


Scarring Circumstances

by Amin_mela_lle



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Nanny, F/M, LotR AU, M/M, Romantic Comedy, This is how I think guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 14:30:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 76,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3212564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amin_mela_lle/pseuds/Amin_mela_lle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all began with me stepping boldly onto his welcome mat, knocking on the door, then, when he opened the door, giving him an overly perky smile and reciting my rehearsed speech. It went something like this, "Hello, I'm Lora, and I live upstairs. I am looking for a summer job and I noticed that you have a child under the age of twelve. Day care costs are skyrocketing and so I'm here to offer myself as a child-care worker for your child."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Job Interview

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a very different type of story than my last one. It's my first AU so I'm excited about it :D. It's also more comedic (at least at first), so I hope you guys like that. It may be a welcome reprieve from the last few chapters of Tel' Aran Feliken. Anyways, please let me know what you guys think. I'm also looking for story-line ideas or what you guys would like to see in this new story. I don't have much laid out yet, so there is plenty of room for suggestions. Also the title isn't final so if anyone thinks of a better one - Hey, I'm all for it ;)  
> Thank you all and I hope you enjoy it!

It all began with me stepping boldly onto his welcome mat, knocking on the door, then, when he opened the door, giving him an overly perky smile and reciting my rehearsed speech. It went something like this, "Hello, I'm Lora, and I live upstairs. I am looking for a summer job and I noticed that you have a child under the age of twelve. Day care costs are skyrocketing and so I'm here to offer myself as a child-care worker for your child." Truth be told, I was only calling myself a "child-care worker" because I was certified in first aid and because it sounded more professional than "nanny". In reality, I had been without a job for a little too long and now I was getting desperate. 

 

I'd been out of college for a few years and, like an idiot, had a degree in art history. Now don't get me wrong, I love art history. I took it because I love drawing, but when you get out of college, there aren't many open jobs for art history majors...unless I wanted to teach a handful of kids how to do paint-by-numbers...so I settled for the nanny gig. Excuse me, "child-care worker" gig. So here I was, standing on the doorstep of the parent of one of the only children in our building who I could stand. Legolas Sylvan was a young kid, about nine or ten, whom I had met one day on my way up to my apartment. He was standing outside of his door, leaning his blond head against it, with a frustrated look on his face. When asked what was wrong, he responded that he had forgotten his key inside and couldn't get in. Being the nice person that I am, I told him he could come up and chill at my apartment until his dad got home. We had a grand time playing monopoly and avoiding responsibility until his shiny iphone went off with a text from his dad asking where the heck he was. At least that's what I was guessing it said, because he suddenly jumped up, thanked me, then ran out of the apartment. That was the most defined moment in my soon-to-be friendship with young Legolas, but hopefully today would become an even more defining...defining moment...hey, I studied art history, not grammar, stop judging me. 

 

Legolas's dad was tall, very tall, and dressed in a gray button-down shirt that hung over his jeans. He had long blond hair that looked incredibly well kept. He had better volume then I did, if we're being honest. He had a few rings on his fingers and military-looking boots on his feet, but he kept their laces loose. He was looking at me like I was someone of a much lower class while I recited my little speech. After I was done, I kept the incredibly large, fake smile on my face and waited for a reply. The look on his face suddenly turned to one of interest. "Who did you say you were?"

"I'm Lora Quenya...I live upstairs...I wanna be the nanny." My smile was beginning to fade and so was my confidence. "Chid-care worker," I clarified awkwardly. He now looked very amused.

"Why don't you come in, Lora." He stepped aside and let me into the large apartment. I lived in a cheaper apartment upstairs and my windows overlooked a very nice parking lot. The Sylvans lived in a much larger space and the windows that surrounded their living space looked out over the park next door. Very snazzy. Legolas's dad made his way over to the open kitchen and stationed himself behind the counter in front of a cutting board covered in half-cut vegetables. He picked up his knife and motioned with it to one of the stools on the other side of the counter before resuming his chopping. "I'm a writer, Lora," he told me as I slid onto one of the silver stools. "I work from home, but don't like to be disturbed during the day. I have a lot of meetings that I have to attend out of my home and obviously cannot take Legolas with me. I'd be interested in hiring you to look after Legolas just for the summer. He's not usually trouble, but he would appreciate having someone to make him lunch." The whole time he was speaking, my eyes were glued to his hands, dazzled by his knife skills. "Do you cook?" As he asked, he dumped the chopped vegetables into a pan on the stove, poured some wine into it, then let it go up in purple and white flames over the heat. I'm not too sure whether or not my mouth dropped open at this. I'm pretty sure it did. "Do you?" He was asking me again and I had to force my brain to stop staring in awe at his chef...stuff and answer the question. I wanted to say that I could, because I wasn't that bad, but I didn't do all sorts of flamey things on the stove, so I just answered as truthfully as I could in the situation.

"A little."

"Well Legolas isn't that hard to please." He was now pouring some of the wine into a glass and offered it to me. 

"No, thank you." I'd learned that it was bad to drink during a job interview. Though I desperately wanted to. He took a sip of the wine himself before continuing on with his interview.

"Do you have any questions for me?" That was a fabulous question...I just hadn't come up with any yet. 

"Not yet." He seemed satisfied with this answer and began to rattle off figures and such about my salary. I wasn't going to be too particular about that, so I slid off of the stool and began to wander around the kitchen as he spoke. Everything seemed to be situated just so and was very tidy and clean. He asked me what I thought of his salary plan and I told him it sounded fine...cause it did.

"I hope it all made sense to you."

"It did." Sort of. I kind of left my brain in college, so not much made complete sense to me anymore. "Who's this?" I was now staring at the only picture that was hung on the stainless steel fridge. It featured two men, one of which was Legolas's dad, the other had darker, less groomed hair though was equally handsome, and both men had their arms around each other and a slightly younger Legolas who crouched in front of them. 

"Bard," he answered simply. 

"Friend of the family?"

"He may get offended at that title." He gave a light laugh. 

"Is he...someone you're...with?" Now I know...that was an awkward question, but I did want to know. It was the only picture in this place that I had found. Even so, the moment the words were out of my mouth, I desperately wanted to shove them back in.

"I don't see how that's any of your business. He won't interfere with your job," was the reply. His laugh had disappeared and he was all seriousness again.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. I had that bad habit, you know, the one where you say whatever comes into your mind. I felt like that would probably be a bad idea around this guy. 

"Is there anything else you need to know?"

"Not that I can think of." I gathered myself together and he escorted me back to the door. "Actually," I began as I stepped into the hall. "I don't think I know what to call you." That's an easy way of saying 'I totally forgot to let you introduce yourself at the beginning, could you do that now to avoid more awkwardness later?'

"You can call me Thranduil."

"And I will never call you late for dinner." I don't know why I said that. Probably because I was still hypnotized by his chef tricks in the kitchen. And probably because I was tired. Everything can be related to tiredness if you tried hard enough. So now I was wandering back up the two flights of stairs to my apartment, trying to erase a few memories from my brain. Ugh. I would try harder to be more professional in the future.

 

Being professional is hard. Just gonna put that out there. Thranduil scheduled a day for me to come over and just see where everything was before my first day of work. That was a good idea, I guess. I tried to be as professional as I could, but slipped in a few areas. It didn't help that I had drank two liters of soda before coming just to psych myself up, and, as a result, was constantly needing to use the bathroom. Folks, don't drink that much before work, learn from my mistakes. Legolas seemed excited to have me there, though he wouldn't shut up about the fact that he was winning when our game of monopoly ended at our previous meeting. I told him that I'd take him on again the first day of work and beat him. So I started praying that I would beat him so I could earn his respect. There's nothing wrong with getting a head start on prayers for victory when you're playing a nine year-old. They are vicious. I learned that I would be expected to make Legolas breakfast and lunch, and that Thranduil would make dinner and I'd always be welcome to stay for that. I appreciated that part. Thranduil expected Legolas to do some reading during the day, another thing I was fine with since that meant silence. At least it should mean silence. Unless he was one of those readers who had to read everything out loud...Lord, please don't let him be one of those readers. I continued on with my prayers. The rest of the visit was normal enough. I got my few questions answered and everything seemed to be in order. It was set that I would get there at nine the next morning. Sounded good to me.

 

Oversleeping on your first day of work is...oh don't get me started on how bad that is. You see, I'd gotten used to sleeping in since I'd been unemployed for so long, so...when I actually had to get up...I didn't. Yeah. Not good. 9:15 found me on Thranduil's doorstep with windswept hair, half-open eyes, a mug of coffee in one hand and a bag of miscellaneous items that I had thrown in at the last second in the other. Great impressions all around. Thankfully, I was let in by Legolas, who was still in his pajamas. I got to dump everything onto the couch, finish my mug of coffee, pull my hair into a messy bun, then start on Legolas's breakfast before I saw Thranduil. He only came out to grab his paper, so he gave me a nod and a short 'good morning' before disappearing back into his office. "Is he always like that?" I asked Legolas, who was at my elbow, eagerly watching me make his scrambled eggs. 

"Like what? Working?"

"Just...a man of few words, right?"

"Sure." I wasn't gonna get much information out of this one. Damnit. I was curious about this family and if Legolas wasn't going to be of much help, I'd have to figure out a different way to get answers. 


	2. The Book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the second chapter! Thank you guys for all your kind comments on the first one :D. I finally have the main plot point in my head, so we are heading towards a fixed point, thank goodness :). Annnnd we have a story title change! I hope you like it :).   
> I literally researched stock news for this...so give me credit for that, if nothing else :)

"No way." I grabbed the book off the shelf as my eyes ran over the author's name over and over again. 

"Babe, isn't there a different gift we could get your sister than another book? You get her one every year."

"Hmm?" I looked up at the guy who now stood before me, his arms laden down with all the books that might be good gifts for Ariel, but since I was indecisive, I required my boyfriend to hold them all until I could make a decision. 

"Can we please just leave?"

"Uh," I threw the book I had just grabbed on top of the pile that he was carrying. "I'll just choose from these, okay?"

"Ten minutes."

"Fifteen." I grinned at him and he rolled his eyes as he plopped the books down on a table.

"You're lucky I love you."

"Eh, I could do better." I gave him a quick kiss then knelt on the floor to start reviewing the books. 

"How's work going?" He sat down on the chair next to the table and I looked over at him, taking a minute to admire him as he sat there. Thorin and I had been together since our last year of college and were now living together part-time. That meant that we each had an apartment, but he was mostly over mine. The reason we weren't at his place was because he had roommates...and his roommates were idiots. He had hair so dark that it was almost black, and a nicely trimmed beard and mustache. He enjoyed looking as manly as he could, so he now wore a red flannel lumber-jack shirt along with his jeans and huge boots. Seeing him sitting there on the maroon chair in the middle of a dainty bookstore just reminded me why I was with him. He was willing to come and sit in here for hours while I picked out what to buy. That's commitment for you.

"I love you," I told him with a smile.

"That's not answering my question." A smile was now tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, you asked about work right? Uh, it's good. Legolas doesn't read out loud so that's a plus."

"What?" He laughed.

"Well you know how some kids read out loud and it's really...you know what, never mind." I turned back to the books spread out in front of me and started reading the summary of one of them when Thorin's voice interrupted me.

"Jane Robinson is new to the small, quirky town of Plainsville. Will she find a way to fit in while fending off the advances of the local hottie?" 

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes in Thorin's direction.

"That's what it's about, isn't it?"

"How'd you know? Did you read this one?" I asked sarcastically.

"The front," he motioned towards the picture of a girl standing in the middle of a rather empty street, looking after an attractive man walking away from her. "Hasn't Ariel read every book with that summary already?"

"You're probably right." I pushed it to the edge of the table. One down - like ten more to go.

 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! We've all heard it. That sound that makes you wish you'd died in your sleep. I scrambled to grab my phone and turn off the alarm before pushing myself up onto my elbows. But my bed...it was so warm. I collapsed back into the sheets, but only for a moment before I heard my boyfriend's sleepy voice from the other side of the bed. "Don't you have to get up?" Well yes...technically. If we are indeed being technical here. "You don't wanna be late. And leave me some coffee." I made a face in his general direction as I finally pulled myself out of bed. He didn't have to get up yet, so why should I? I grabbed a pair of gray jeans off of the floor before grabbing my last clean shirt, a pink blouse, out of my dresser. 

"If you could make yourself do some laundry before you leave, that would be nice," I called over to the shape of my boyfriend in the bed.

"Yep."

"Don't say that if you won't do it." I pushed my hair out of my face then walked into the bathroom, stretching before turning on the water as hot as it would go. I didn't want to go to work this morning, but then again, who ever did right after getting out of bed? I made a mental note to take that new book I bought with me...oh please don't let me forget that.

 

I paused before the Sylvan's door and took out my compact to look in the mirror briefly. I had very light make-up on today and I'd blow-dried my hair so it now fell in short waves down to my shoulders. Large silver hoop earrings hung down from my ears and as I tilted the mirror down to look at my chest, I made an inaudible gasp before scrambling to button up one more button on my shirt. No need to leave it that low. Then I knocked on the door with as much confidence as I could muster. I didn't expect Thranduil to be the one to open it. 

"Oh, good morning, Lora."

"Morning, Thranduil...where's Legolas?" I asked as I stepped into the apartment. Legolas was always the one to open the door for me since his dad was usually showering or already working on his story. 

"Legolas woke up feeling ill this morning. I made us breakfast, but he had some juice and won't eat anything else til lunch. A little after noon you can offer him toast or soup. Make sure he eats something, but he doesn't have to eat a lot. I have a meeting this afternoon and won't be home til after dinner. So, if you don't have other plans, you can just stay until I get back. I won't be very late. Have you had coffee this morning?" Thranduil was speaking fast, and to be honest, I'd stopped listening at the line, 'I made us breakfast'. 

"Yes...I've had coffee...you made us breakfast?"

"You like omelets, right?" Thranduil slid a perfectly-made omelet out of the pan onto a plate then pushed it towards me. "Anything else you want?"

"No, uh, no that's good. Thanks." I climbed onto one of the bar stools and dropped my bag next to me. Surprisingly, he sat down next to me this morning as he dug into his own breakfast. 

"Is he really sick?"

"No, it should be one of those short bugs." He honestly didn't sound that concerned. I put a forkful into my mouth then tried to stop my eyes from rolling up into my head as it melted on my tongue. It's entirely possible to fall in love with some eggs, cheese, onions, and mushrooms, by the way. Totally possible. I glanced over at the tall blond next to me and saw that he had pulled up the news on his ipad and was scrolling through it. I wanted to keep my mouth shut and just let him read, but did I? Of course not.

"Anything interesting?" Shut up, Lora. Seriously, shut up!

"The change on GE is down." Okay...what? I think I must have been giving him a very blank stare because he glanced over at me and laughed. "I didn't think you kept up on the stock exchange news."

"I...don't usually." That wasn't technically a lie. I just never did - big surprise. I'm a young adult for heaven's sake! We can't all be from the Wolf of Wall-street.

"If you're asking if anything catastrophic has happened in the news recently, then no. Gas prices continue to drop and the president's approval rating is still low."

"Glad nothing's changed." Then I gave him a thumbs up. Again...why, Lora? Why? You'd have a much happier life if you just...didn't do stupid things. He just chuckled and went back to reading. That's when I remembered that I had brought the book. "Oh, by the way..." I leaned over and rummaged around in my bag before pulling out the book and placing it on the counter between us. "I found one of your books in the book store the other day."

"You did?" A smile crept across his mouth as he ran his fingers over his name at the bottom of the book. Then his fingertips ghosted over the title.  _Mirkwood_. 

"What kind of story is it? It looks...fantasy...ish."

"It is." His eyes moved up to mine. "I enjoy writing fantasy stories full of elves, and goblins, and dwarves. Though dwarves are disgusting creatures." He laughed to himself at this statement. "If you read it, I hope you enjoy it."

"I plan to read it, and if your son is a little under the weather today...then I will start today."

"Just to warn you, there is a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end."

"Oh don't worry," I waved my hand dismissively. "I can handle cliff-hangers." 

 

Now, I don't read all that much. And when I do read, it's not usually fantasy. But this...this I couldn't put down. And then I finished. What an incredibly crappy ending! Who ends a book that way? I'm pretty sure I yelled both of those things into the empty house. Thranduil had left and Legolas was now sleeping peacefully after having about half a cup of soup for lunch. I gave an exasperated sigh as I pulled myself off of the leather couch in the living room and dropped the book into my bag. Even though the ending had been dumb...I still really wanted to read the next one. How do the characters deal with the crappy ending? That was the question I needed answered, but I didn't have the next book and wouldn't until I could get back to the bookstore. And now that I was done with that book, my list of things to do without Legolas was...empty. Thranduil had started a crock pot meal for us before he left, so I went over and smelled that, then stirred it. It was going to be amazing when it was done, but all his meals were. I amused myself for a few minutes by looking through every cabinet in the kitchen. I wasn't very surprised at what I found. Thranduil was kind of a health nut, so there was no junk food to be found. The exact opposite of my place...but we aren't talking about my place, are we? I began to look in the other cabinets in other rooms in the apartment, though I knew what was in most of them. Then I saw the closed door of Thranduil's office. I hadn't been in there before...now I know I shouldn't have, but...I did. I stepped into the small room that was lit up with natural light from the window over the desk that was...neat. A few papers were in a pile on one side, and on the other was another picture. An unexpected picture. This one featured the twin towers, you know, the ones that collapsed on 9/11? And that's it. It was a street view, looking up at the two towers. I picked it up and examined it for a minute, before carefully putting it back down. My eyes ran over the papers on the desk and I recognized a letter from a publisher and another piece of paper with a few random things scribbled on it. The rest of the room was just shelves and shelves of books. As I looked over the titles, I noticed that most of them were fantasy. I flipped through a few, noticing a theme of elves. Apparently he had some affinity for elf-culture. Above one of the bookcases, I looked up to notice a beautiful long bow that hung on the wall. I knew not to touch it, but it was a beautiful thing to look at. He really was into fantasy. I crouched down to read the books on the lower levels and there, on the lowest level, I found two books. One was  _Mirkwood_ , which I'd already read...and there was the next one in the series.  _Elf Prince_. Aha! I snatched it off the shelf then carried it back to the couch in the living room and plopped down. He wouldn't mind if I read it then put it back. After-all, he had said he hoped I would like the first one.

 

So I started to read. And I read...and read. I had to put the book away when I went in and ate with Legolas so he wouldn't say something to his dad about it later, but the minute the dishes were clean, I was right back to that book. I was so deeply into the book that I didn't notice the sound of the door opening...or the sound of two pairs of feet entering the apartment...I only heard the sound of my boss's voice. "Good evening." I screamed. I did. It scared me! What am I supposed to say? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." I was now in a position that was half-on and half-off the couch looking up at my boss and the man from the picture on the fridge. Brad...or Bard. Bard! That was it! 

"Um, hello." I picked myself up off the floor, trying to hide the book behind my back. "How was your meeting?"

"It was fine. How's Legolas?"

"He's good," I nodded. He had some dinner with me then wanted to go back to sleep.

"Good." He nodded briefly before turning to the man beside him. "Do you want coffee? I can make coffee."

"No, I'm good. I wouldn't mind some wine though." At this suggestion, Thranduil smiled and pulled off his coat before moving into the kitchen, followed closely by his dark-haired friend. Are you going to introduce me? No? Okay, I'll just leave. I nonchalantly dropped the  _Elf Prince_ into my bag then picked it up as I side-stepped towards the door.

"So I'll see you tomorrow," I called in his direction. The two men were having a conversation in rather hushed tones, but Thranduil glanced towards me as I reached the door.

"Yes. Thank you, Lora." Yup. Anything for you, blondie. I slid into the hall and pulled the door shut behind me. I was rather upset that I hadn't been introduced to Bard...especially since I wanted to know what he'd be introduced as...but whatever. That was that. I made my way upstairs to my apartment to climb into bed with my boyfriend and spend another few hours finishing my book. 


	3. The Bribe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is just so much fun to write...I just have to write down my thoughts basically xD  
> Thank you all for your kind comments! I hope you like this chapter and I'd love to know what you guys think is going on/what will happen :D

"If I pay you five dollars, will you let me get out of bed?"

"No! And you're being cheep, by the way." I shot Legolas a side-glare. 

"Ten?"

"Hey, your dad said that you needed another day to rest, then you could get up to-mor-row. Got it?"

"Fine. I'll pay you twenty bucks."

"Done." 

"You're a bad nanny," he told me as he slid off the covers and climbed out of his bed. 

"Why? Just cause I don't follow your dad's words to the letter?"

"The nannies I had when I were little usually made me go up to fifty."

"Wait, is that an option? Get back in bed, let's try again."

"Nope," Legolas laughed as he waved the twenty dollar bill in my face. "This is all you get!"

"I hate you."

"Don't say that to a child you're babysitting." He laughed again before running off towards the living room. I shoved the money into my pocket and followed behind him. Stupid nine-year-olds.

 

Once you kind of take something without permission, there always comes the awkward time when you have to put it back. Except that Thranduil didn't seem interested in leaving his office any time soon and had taken up the habit of showering before I got there in the morning, so I didn't even have that time to sneak in and put the book back. If I was honest with myself...the book was...fine. The book was fine. Another crappy ending though. Seriously, he needed to learn how to write endings that weren't so...crappy. After I had allowed Legolas out of bed, though, Thranduil decided to do what he never does - he came out of his office for lunch. "Good afternoon," I smiled pleasantly in his direction as he stared at Legolas while approaching the table we were seated at. 

"Why are you out of bed?" His words were reproachful and he narrowed his eyes as he reached his young son, now towering over him.

"It's just for lunch, dad." Good cover. Smart.

"Have you been resting today?"

"Yup! Lora read me a story in bed then made me rest." Legolas was not such a bad kid after all. I think I really misjudged him. 

"Indeed..." Now Thranduil's eyes drifted up to mine and I could see that he didn't believe Legolas. I pasted a smile on my face and he chose to ignore the matter. For now. "Lora?" Oops.

"Yes?"

"I believe you've failed to return a book from my office. Could I perhaps have it back?" Damnit.

"Oh," I chuckled awkwardly. "The book you wrote? Yes, I think I have that with me..." I slid out of my chair and stepped over to my bag to retrieve it before placing it in his outstretched hand. "Sorry."

"I don't mind you borrowing it, I just wished to have it back." He didn't seem mad, so I gave him another awkward smile. "Now, is there any macaroni and cheese left for me?" 

"For you?" My eyebrows shot up a I tried to imagine this immaculate piece of man before me gobbling down common foods like macaroni and cheese...but I "quickly" recovered. "Um, yeah, sure. There's some more on the stove." 

"Thank you." He tucked his book under his arm then headed off to the kitchen.

"You like him, don't you?" Legolas's smirky face was now...smirking at me. 

"What? Like him? Like...like him? No.."

"You like him," he repeated simply, then turned his smirking face to his bowl of food and smirked into it. Annnnd I was back to hating him.

 

I didn't have to wait very long to see Bard again. So that was good. Or bad. Depending on how much you like Bard. I didn't know yet. I was torn between wanting to see him kiss Thranduil, just to confirm my suspicions, and finding out that he had a wife and kids somewhere. Or that he was related. He wasn't related. He came over again, but this time it was in the early afternoon, just as I was washing the dishes from lunch. "Good morning," Bard called cheerfully into the apartment as he stepped inside. Apparently someone had their own key. 

"Morning!" I called back, leaning away from the sink for a moment.

"Dad, Bard's here!" Legolas yelled from the living room. 

"Don't bother him, Legolas. He'll come out when he's ready." Bard ventured into the kitchen to find me elbow-deep in soap suds, holding one of the few pans that Thranduil had that wasn't dishwasher safe. And I'm not gonna lie, when I had to wash dishes, I would always add more soap than I needed. What fun was washing dishes if you couldn't play with the suds? "Well hello there." He smiled at me and I found myself blushing as I smiled back, though I haven't the slightest clue why. Maybe it was that he was very sexy in that older guy kind of way...Lora, get your head straight. Come on.

"Hi," was all I managed to get out.

"How has your day been, Lora?" What, are we old friends? But his tone was so smooth...

"Um, fine." I gave him one of my awkward smiles. "How was yours?"

"Just fine. I'm happy to see Legolas back to normal."

"Yup. He's not sick anymore." Way to state the obvious, Einstein. 

"Oh shit, Bard you're early." Thranduil was now stepping out of his office and giving Bard a disapproving look. "I told you not before two."

"That's only an hour away." Bard only smiled at Thranduil's attitude. 

"I won't be ready for a while yet."

"You take your time. I'll just wait here."

"You sure? I hate to make you wait."

"I'm fine." Bard glanced towards me and winked before smiling back at Thranduil.

"Alright, fine. I'll be out in a little while. Don't say anything inappropriate." 

"You're the one who just swore in front of your child," Bard said under his breath. Thranduil had already ducked back into his office, so it was really said for my benefit. And he did get a laugh out of me for his trouble. 

"So, uh, how do you know Thranduil?" I felt this sudden burden of having to entertain Bard, even though I knew that was stupid. He knew these people more than I did and probably would be better of just going and playing video games with Legolas. 

"We met at one of those big lunches he gets to go to for being such a famous writer." There was a tone of sarcasm in Bard's voice, but I chose to ignore it. 

"So are you a writer to?"

"Not me," Bard chuckled as he leaned against the counter and slid one hand into his pocket. "I'm a bartender at heart, but sometimes they have me waiting tables or washing dishes. I do whatever the club needs me to do."

"Oh. So you and Thranduil just...connected?" Awkward, Lora. That was awkward.

"Yup." He lightly tapped his palm on the counter besides him. I was waiting for him to ask about me, but he didn't. Maybe I was the subject of conversation between the two of them. Not sure if I should be happy about that...or slightly creeped out. "So what's your degree in?"

"My college degree?" The question caught me off-guard.

"Yeah, what'd you study for?"

"Art history major," I replied sadly. We've been over this, I'm not...sad...just disappointed that I can't work in any sort of an art field. 

"Ahh." He nodded like he knew what I meant by my 'sadness'. "You don't want to teach a bunch of kids how to finger-paint?" We both laughed. Who was this guy? My spiritual guide or something? "How do you like nannying?" 

"Between you and me, I'm actually a child-care worker," I said in a low voice. "But it's fine. Legolas is a good kid, so-"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Bard cut me off. "I haven't offered to help. Here, let me dry." And the angels sang because a man actually offered to do a job that would be called 'house work'. "You were saying?" Forget Thranduil, I'm gonna date this guy. Wait, what?

"Um, just that Legolas is a great kid..." I handed him a wet pan and he dried it then hung it back in its place, needing no instruction from me. "And I do like working here."

"And your boss?" Bard was now raising his eyebrows as he gave me a smile. Not sure what that smile meant...

"Yeah, Thranduil's alright. I don't see him much, so..."

"You and me both." Bard took the next pan from me and dried it in silence. 

"So...why are you here today?"

"One of those big lunches." He shot me another smile. "But this time, I don't have to work the tables or the bar." Aha! You're going as his date, aren't you? Aren't you? Don't try to deny it? But unfortunately, that was the last dish, and Bard excused himself to go play with Legolas. I made a mental note to google, 'how to ask if a guy is dating your boss without sounding like a creep' when I got home.

 

Thranduil was home late again, and I was silently packing up when the doorbell rang. Thranduil didn't move to answer it...so I did. "Thorin? What are you doing here?" My eyes instantly widened at the sight of my boyfriend standing in the doorway. 

"You weren't answering my texts," Thorin's eyes shot past me and looked at the slender form of Thranduil who stood just a few feet behind me. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." 

"It is," I breathed frustratedly. I walked away from the door to grab my bag and Thorin took one step in. 

"This must be the great Thranduil." He was practically glaring at my boss and I rejoined him as quickly as I could. I glanced at Thranduil and saw him standing with his hands behind his back, looking down his nose at my boyfriend. 

"And who is this?"

"This is my boyfriend, Thorin, but we are leaving now." I turned back to Thorin. "Come on, let's go." So he finally gave in and stepped out into the hall, putting his arm around me possessively as he closed the door.  

"What the heck was that?" I almost exploded as we started up the stairs.

"I was worried about you-"

"So you came in and insulted my boss? Seriously?" I gave an angry sigh and pulled away from Thorin, walking a few steps ahead of him. It really shouldn't have affected me that much...Thorin had been rude, but it wasn't like Thranduil had taken it with grace. I was just...I wanted everything...I didn't know. I didn't know much anymore. 


	4. The Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, after this chapter the set-up is basically done! Next chapter we have a big event coming in - at least that's what I'm planning :D.   
> I also set up a very interesting love triangle by accident...I don't know what I'm gonna do with that, if anything. Let me know if you guys think I should :).

I soon realized that Bard was a regular at the Sylvan apartment. He'd drop by to go places with Thranduil or just to eat lunch with us. Sometimes he'd come into the apartment for an hour or two and leave without even seeing Thranduil. He and Legolas were obviously good friends and if Thranduil wasn't available, they were happy to spend their time playing video games. I liked Bard, he was warm and kind. He kind of seemed to be the opposite of Thranduil, though Thranduil was not mean in any way...just not as welcoming. After eating lunch with us one day, Bard headed off to work, leaving Legolas and I to ourselves. I decided that it was time to read for an hour, but found myself distracted. I had to ask... "Legolas?"

"Hmm?" Legolas asked, not looking up from his comic book. 

"What do you think of Bard?"

"Why, don't you like him?"

"No, no, I do...I just wanted to know what you thought of him."

"I like him."

"Your dad thinks a lot of him, doesn't he?" At this question, Legolas's blue eyes met mine. 

"Why are you asking me about him?"

"I was just...wondering."

"I don't know why you're wondering. Bard's been here since she died and he's not leaving, even if you want him to." I opened my mouth to say that I never meant that Bard should leave, but Legolas had turned his back to me as he returned to his comic about shooting and dying. It was then that I realized how much Bard meant to Legolas, and even maybe a little bit why he meant a lot to Thranduil. Since "she" died...that would be his mother, no doubt. Honestly, I'd thought that Legolas's mother and Thranduil had gotten divorced, or she'd left him or something. Just seemed to match Thranduil's attitude. He didn't seem to be in any kind of mourning, he just seemed a bit bitter sometimes. But she must have died. And that was awful. I immediately determined to keep my nose out of their business now...though, we all know that that couldn't stay that way for long.

 

Now you may be wondering if Legolas had any friends or if he just sat in his apartment all day. I had begun to think the same thing when I was informed that Legolas had a friend coming over one morning. Thranduil told me that they'd be content to just play video games so I wouldn't have to worry about them much. Thranduil left just before lunch, and almost as soon as the door closed after him, the doorbell rang. When the door was opened, there stood...a beautiful, red-haired girl. "I just saw your dad leave." She was beaming at Legolas as she stepped into the apartment and let the door close behind her. 

"Did you bring it?" Legolas asked eagerly.

"Yup." She pulled off her green backpack and unzipped one of the pockets. Legolas's eyes were wide with anticipation as she pulled out a green case. A video game. 

"Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare." Legolas was almost drooling over it. Really? All that anticipation for a video game? "Come on, lets go play! We only have a few hours before he gets back." Legolas took off in the direction of the living room, but the new girl paused before going after him, turning to look at me. 

"Are you the nanny?"

"You're a smart little girl," I told her in a bored tone. 

"I'm Tauriel. And before you ask, I'm not Legolas's girlfriend. I'm older than him and I'm just here cause he has a better TV than I do."

"And I'm guessing his dad doesn't let him play the game that you just brought?"

"Does it matter to you?" She gave me a slight smile as she said it and I didn't know what she meant by that. I folded my arms.

"Not much."

"Good. And I won't be staying for dinner, so you don't have to plan for that." Then she bounded off after her younger non-boyfriend. Fine. Be that way. Why was everyone around here so snarky?

 

I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I didn't...well, not at first, anyways. They just left the door open when they talked. I was returning to the living room after checking in on Legolas in his room, when I heard the two voices from Thranduil's office. "They're not gonna buy that." It was Thranduil's tired voice that I heard first. And, because I'm a no-good busybody, I continued to listen.

"This is going anywhere for you and you know that." Bard's soothing voice came next.

"It's all I want to work on." Thranduil sounded exhausted, as if he had fought a long battle and was now about to give in just because he didn't have enough in him to keep it up.

"And I admire you for that...but it's just not selling."

"And you think your idea will?"

"I think people would love to see something different from you."

"Different?" Thranduil scoffed. "Bard, this is the complete opposite." There was a pause and my mind could only imagine what went on during the silence. "Isn't it a little too late to re-imagine my whole career?" Thranduil's voice was now almost a whisper. More silence.

"The new ones are coming in this week. We'll see how they do. If they don't make the numbers, would you just consider my idea?" This seemed to be signalling the ending of the conversation, so I headed off to the living room so I wouldn't be discovered. I sat down on the couch with a confused expression on my face. Thranduil's books weren't doing well? That seemed...incorrect. I pulled out my phone and did a quick google search on the name 'Thranduil Sylvan'. Not gonna lie, it wasn't the first time I'd googled him. As I scrolled down the page, there weren't many articles, but there were a few...and most had similar headlines. Like this one, 'Author Thranduil Sylvan attends luncheon with companion Bard Bowman'. Oh. So that was it. Thranduil's fame was coming from his elusive relationship with the messy-haired brunette. Was that why Thranduil was keeping Bard around? "Legolas has informed me that he wants pizza. Would it be alright if I took you both to lunch tomorrow?" I looked up at Bard, who was now standing before me. 

"Pizza?" You mean that circle thing with the gooey cheese and the sauce that stains everything that I would give my life for?

"Is lunch tomorrow okay for you?"

"Oh yeah, sure." Right now would be okay for me too. Or tomorrow. Or next week. Or in two minutes. Or all of those. He took a seat on a chair across from me and smiled. What are you smiling for? My hair probably doesn't look that good right now either. Oh gosh, did I forget to put on blush again? 

"I'm really glad that you came to work here." This sounds like the opening line to a proposal. What am I even thinking right now? Internal eye-roll.

"Thanks, me too."

"Legolas really looks up to you, I think. And...Thranduil really likes having you here." Um.

"That's...nice." Really, what do you say to something like that? "I like it here. I wish the summer was longer."

"Summer?"

"Thranduil said he only needs me for the summer."

"Oh, yes." He looked down at the floor and we sat in silence for a few minutes. 

"Can I ask you something?" His brown eyes moved up to meet mine. 

"Anything." Really? Anything? A million questions raced through my mind, but I knew which one I had to ask. 

"What happened to Legolas's mother?" The words hung in the air and Bard looked at me for a minute, then he sighed and rubbed his hands together as his eyes fell to the floor. 

"That's a sad story, Lora." He reached up and rubbed his forehead before looking back up at me. "But I'll tell you if you want me to."

"I just want to understand," I said softly. He nodded, then began the story.

"She was beautiful of course. I never had the chance to meet her, but I wish I had. I've seen one or two pictures of her and from that I could just tell...how much he loved her." Did 'he' mean Legolas...or Thranduil? The answer seemed obvious. "She was brave, though, and strong. She wanted to enter the army, but her dad wouldn't let her, so after she married Thranduil...she did. She just wanted to save lives and put herself in danger to do it." He sighed again and I could see the pain he was going through just to get the story out. "She died about four years ago...she was selected to go on a mission after a few members of Al Qaeda."

"The twin towers...why does Thranduil have a picture of the twin towers? What does that have to do with her?"

"Al Qaeda was behind those attacks. Thranduil keeps that picture of the towers as his only reminder of her."

"Oh." I was quiet now, folding my hands and letting them rest in my lap. The whole story was an awful one. I was glad I knew, but in another way...I was sorry I had asked.

 

As I walked up the stairs to my apartment, my mind was filled with images of what might have happened. What might have happened if she hadn't died? What might have happened to Bard? Or to me? And then there was the question...why did it matter? It pained me to imagine Thranduil having to go through he death of his wife, but I couldn't get it out of my head. He was all that I could think about. And it hurt. I gathered myself together at my door, in case Thorin was home, before I pushed it open. As I expected, I was greeted by my boyfriend. "You're finally home." Thorin grinned before giving me a huge, warm hug. I hugged him back, but I was the first one to pull away. "How was your day, love?" He was really happy tonight and I tried to pull a smile across my face to match his. 

"It was good."

"Then come on, give me a kiss." He leaned towards me, but a kiss was the last thing I was in the mood for.

"Not now, babe. I'm just tired and a little hungry. Let me jump into the shower then-"

"I hope you're hungry." He smiled, taking my hand and leading me to the kitchen. "Because I've made you dinner."

"You what?" My eyes widened at the sight of my counter full of food. There were two baked potatoes wrapped in foil, a bowl of mixed vegetables, and a platter of grilled chicken. "Oh...my..." I looked up at Thorin who was beaming proudly.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Well...you...wow," I breathed. "Thank you." I buried my face in his shoulder as I wrapped my arms around him. He chuckled as he held me close then kissed the top of my head. 

"You work hard and I wanted to do this for you. I know you say that blond elf-creature can cook, well this shorter, hairier man can too." To my surprise, as I held onto Thorin, I found myself crying. I was just overwhelmed. I was incredibly depressed by the story of Legolas's mother, then I had a mini revelation on the stairs about how much I liked Thranduil, and now my boyfriend, who I'd been grievously ignoring, had made me the most wonderful meal. I was a horrible person, I really was. I had to stop with this fantasy in my head about who Thranduil was. He was my employer, that was it. And that was all he could be. 


	5. The Blushing Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oohhh I love this chapter so much! Comment what you think will happen after this one ;)

Work had now become exciting. For the simple reason that now I felt like I knew these people, even Bard to a certain extent, and I loved learning more about them. Whenever I was there, I felt like I had been asleep before I worked here and now I was alive. Now, granted, I didn't feel that way when I was stuck alone with Legolas, but whenever Thranduil was around...or when Bard was...everything seemed awesome. Is that weird? That's probably weird. I found myself giving awkward smiles out more often. And blushing. Seriously, blushing is incredibly annoying. Something cute happens? You blush. Someone hot walks by? You blush. You do something embarrassing? You blush. Just plain annoying. So it was no surprise on this one day when Thranduil came out of his office with his computer and a large stack of papers, a pen stuck behind his ear, that I immediately blushed as he sat down at the table next to me where I was looking at a Where's Waldo book. Because at that exact moment, all three moments I just described had all happened at once. I quickly shut the book and stammered for an excuse. "I was just...um, waiting for Legolas, who...wanted to read this book." Great. That was terrible. But he was smiling, so...I had to have done something right. 

"Did you find him?"

"Legolas? I think he's in-"

"I mean Waldo." He was busy straightening the papers and setting his computer just so, but he was still smiling. 

"Oh, um..." Do I lie and say yes? Or do I admit that this little man in red stripes was incredibly difficult to find. Seriously, who makes these books? And what child could actually find him in the abnormally large crowd? "Not...exactly...but what are you doing out here?" I tried to rush through the first part. "You're just usually...in there." He gave a light laugh.

"I just decided...maybe I'd get more inspiration out here." 

"Well then, I won't interrupt you." I made a move to get up, but Thranduil put out a hand to stop me.

"No, please...you can stay. You won't bother me." Then he smiled again, officially breaking the record for the most times I'd seen him smile. Ever. And then I blushed again. Thanks a lot, blood. This sweet and touching moment was interrupted by the doorbell, though, and I stared into Thranduil's eyes for a moment before realizing that I should probably go check...what that was. So I gave him an awkward smile before getting up and going over to the door. After opening said door, I found a large box and a cute UPS delivery guy. 

"Package for Thranduil Sylvan. Can I get your signature?" He asked in a bored tone. You certainly may, but hey, act like you're happy to see me at least. Well, it's not like you had any reason to be happy to see me...I mean I'm cute...kind of...I'm literally rambling in my own brain. I'm gonna stop. 

"Sure." I wrote my messy signature on the dotted line, then handed the clip-board back to the delivery guy. He handed me the package, then we parted ways, probably to never meet again. I brought the package to Thranduil, immediately feeling like both his servant and his wife, then sat back down to watch him open it. Right after I was seated, I realized that he may not want me watch him open it...oh well, I was here now, and it would be awkward to just stand back up after sitting down. He seemed not to care, though, and read the return address with no emotion, then I saw his eyes widen as he pulled open the flaps. Then he gave a contented sigh before pulling out a purple book. That must be his new one. Impressive. My mind immediately started planning a way to "borrow" a copy so I could continue on with the oddly intriguing story. I felt like I should congratulate Thranduil on the new book, but he was examining it and one doesn't just blurt out...

"Congratulations. It looks nice." Well I guess one, meaning me, does just blurt it out. Literally, how did that just come out of my mouth?

"Thank you." He didn't look away from his book, but opened it and began to scan the first pages. I was guessing that the box that sat on his lap was holding other copies. I'd really appreciate it if he just handed me one of them to look at... "Would you like to read one?" BAM! Telepathy is a thing, people. It's real. "Since you've already read the others." He turned his blue eyes on me and, as usually happened when those ocean orbs were looking my direction, I momentarily lost the ability to speak. 

"Um, sure, I mean yeah. Yes. I'd like to read one." Whew. Blew that one. Internal narrowing of the eyes in my own direction. He handed me the book he had been holding and I read the title.  _King of the Woodland Realm_. Looked interesting enough. I opened the cover and began flipping through the pages when my eyes fell on a familiar name in the 'Acknowledgements' section. Bard. So, of course, I read on. 'Bard - you made me who I am'. And that's it. That was literally all that was written by the name of the familiar visitor. You made me who I am...now that's not very platonic, is it? 

 

And then he made a habit out of it. Coming out to sit at the dining room table every day as he typed away on his computer or wrote stuff on papers. Then he made it so he was already sitting at the table when I arrived in the morning. It was strange, but I had to admit...it was really nice to be greeted by him every morning, be able to eat lunch with him every afternoon, and then seamlessly flow into eating dinner with him in the evenings. Almost simultaneously with this decision of his, there was a lull in visits from Bard. I was just beginning to wonder if there was trouble in paradise when he arrived one morning. As Thranduil met him at the door, I realized that I had never seen them greet each other. Well I saw half of it now - the half that wasn't obscured by the door and where I was sitting. "Good morning." Bard's voice was gentle and I saw him place his hand briefly on Thranduil's arm, then Thranduil said something in a low voice to him, causing Bard to laugh. "Hopefully not too much." Then they stepped into the kitchen and I noticed that Thranduil was staying very close to Bard's side. "You got any coffee?"

"Of course." Thranduil poured Bard a mug, automatically stepped over to the fridge and got the milk without even asking what Bard wanted. Then I saw it. The slightest look from Thranduil as he handed Bard his coffee. It was something in the eyes - a tenderness and attraction that I had not seen from Thranduil before. That almost completely confirmed my suspicions of the relationship between the two, but then Bard raised his eyes and met mine...and all thoughts of the relationship left my brain. In fact, all thoughts of every kind left my brain. 

"Morning, Lora. Did you miss me around here?"

"Well the place has been a bit dreary without you." I laughed after I said it, but I think I was just laughing at how pitiful I had just sounded. What, did I think I was in some kind of Jane Austin novel? Dreary? Who says dreary? He was still smiling at me though, that great beautiful smile of his. 

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll stay and eat lunch with you so you can tell me all about what's been going on." Then his attention was drawn back to the blonde male-Barbie at his side, but those few moments he took to speak to me meant a lot. He meant a lot. Your face meant a lot. Shut up, Lora!

 

He kept his word. He sat down with me at lunch, right across...from Thranduil. This was awkward. Then I realized that there was no reason for it to be awkward. Legolas took the seat on Bard's other side and we settled down to eating our paninis. Thranduil was very focused on his computer in front of him and barely looked up the whole meal, leaving Bard and I the ability to be focused entirely on each other. "I was away for a few days," he informed me. So that's why he hadn't been around...but that didn't explain Thranduil's sudden move in location. "I was helping with the wedding of a dear friend and they had the wedding up in the mountains. I got something for you." Wait, what? I immediately snapped to attention and my eyes widened as they looked at him.

"You...you did?"

"Mmhmm." He gave me a cute smile before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a circle of beads. A bracelet. He held it out to me and I took it carefully before examining it. It was a bracelet of blue, grayish beads and then one large wolf charm that hung down. It was so woodsy and so beautiful. 

"Wow."

"Do you like it?" He was looking at me with an expectant smile. 

"I love it." I returned the smile as I slid it onto my wrist even though it didn't even remotely match my outfit. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome. I saw it and thought of you." He gave me something that looked like a wink before taking a bite out of his sandwich. As he did, I looked a little closer at him, but then realized that I shouldn't be creepy and turned back to my own lunch. He bought me a present? That was like the sweetest thing ever. I looked down at my wrist and tried not to blush again. I think I sort of succeeded. Then I raised my eyes to the person who sat just across the table, fearing that he'd be glaring at me or something, but he wasn't. He wasn't even looking at me. He was working as intently as ever on the work in front of him. Hey Thranduil...do you mind? Do you mind if I steal Bard? Cause I kind of really like him.

 

Then came another boring day. I was at home alone with Legolas, desperately wishing for Bard to come in and save me from my boredom, but he didn't. I made Legolas an extra complicated lunch, just to take up more time, then ate slowly. If you ate slowly, it did make you full faster and that was a good way to lose weight and there was nothing wrong with that. Not that I needed to lose weight, but you think about weird things when you're bored. I allowed Legolas to forego the usual quietness hour just so I could watch him play video games and be slightly more entertained, but then Tauriel came over and they went off to play in Legolas's room. Thanks a lot, Tauriel. So I was left again. Very bored. I decided to lay down on the couch, because sleeping took up time, but just as I did, I heard a strange sound. Something was...printing. It was an unusual sound for this apartment, so I got up to investigate. The sound was definitely coming from Thranduil's office, but he had left this morning and the door was open just a crack. I pushed it open and walked over to the small printer on the desk and watched pieces of paper slowly flow out of it. They looked like pages of a story, so I picked up what had printed so far, with every intention of putting it back after seeing what the heck it was and why it was printing. The first page was a recipe, typical Thranduil, then there was the story. I started to scan the page, but all I saw was...my name. Over and over, there was my name. In every sentence. Lora did this. Lora did that. Lora thought about this. What. The. Hell. I grabbed the other pages that had printed and looked over every one of them. It was a story about me. No, worse, it was my story. He had written everything I had done for the past week or two. He had written...me. Now some people may be flattered at this, but others, me included in that 'others', would be mad as hell.

 

So I waited for him. He said he'd be back in time to make dinner. So I waited. Then he came. Stupid him. Thranduil stepped into the apartment and dropped his keys on the counter, then he noticed that I was standing there, right in the middle of the room, clutching a bunch of crumpled up paper and glaring at him. A look of confusion immediately entered his face. "What's this?" He asked. Oh ho ho, I'll tell you what this is. I pulled one of the pieces of paper up in front of my face and began reading.

"Today, Lora wore a pink blouse and dark jeans. She wore light makeup, which allowed you to better see her pretty eyes. She wore large earrings, which made her hair fall in such a way. A beautiful way. I wondered what I had done to deserve her."

"That wasn't supposed to print here." Thranduil's voice was soft, but not apologetic. 

"New story? Want my review?" I took a step towards him. "I don't know what this is supposed to be, but let me be very clear. You are not allowed to write me. Not now. Not ever. I will not be reduced to words on a page that were written by some overgrown man who wishes he were an elf, just so he can get a larger paycheck. You don't know me. You don't own me. You don't get to write me. End of story." Then I shoved the papers against his chest and left the apartment. That was it. The best job I'd ever had was over. 

 

As I climbed the stairs, I thought of Bard. I didn't want to leave him. It wasn't fair that I had to just because the walking add for man-scaping had done something stupid. And it hurt too. It hurt that Thranduil had used me like that. I had liked Thranduil. I had liked him a lot. And I had thought he might be beginning to like me too. And all along I had been there for him to write about. I didn't hate myself enough to let myself stay in there. I couldn't. I pushed open the door to my apartment then slowly closed it behind me. I felt tears in my eyes and cursed myself. Really, I couldn't just have one sad moment without ruining it with crying? I brushed at my eyes, so the tears wouldn't spill over, then I saw Thorin laying on the couch watching TV. Great, an audience. "You're early." Thorin's voice didn't sound right. He sounded upset. He turned his eyes on me and that confirmed it. Yup. Definitely upset. And I was not in the mood for his problems. 

"What is it?" I asked in a tired voice.

"Get sent home early by Thranduil? Is that why you look so sad?" Oh you better not be saying what I'm hearing. He pulled himself to his feet and just looked at me with such disgust. If I had the ability to make people disappear, now would be when I'd use that power.

"No. It's not," I said in as calm a way as I could. It still came out a little steely. 

"Oh you don't get to be upset," he started. Excuse me? "You barely talk to me anymore and when you do, it's all about work and that blond-haired devil downstairs. Now I may not be as smart and sophisticated as he is, Lora, but I'm not stupid." He took another step towards me and I just wanted to sink into the floor and just give up. "I know that there's something going on with you two, and I just want you to say it."

"What?!" The word exploded out of me without my permission. "You dare to stand there and tell me that I'm cheating on you?!" I was now full-fledged yelling at him, and he seemed taken aback at first, but then he was very willing to yell back.

"You deny it?!"

"Yes!" I slammed my bag onto the floor. "And if you think that, then you can just get out!" Then I was crying and it was over. I ran into the bedroom and pushed the door shut behind me, then I slid onto the floor and just sobbed. Why was this all happening to me? All I had wanted was a summer job.


	6. The Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehe :). I hope you guys like this one!  
> Thank you so much for all of your comments, by the way, they mean the world to me. It's so sweet what you guys take the time to say <3

I hadn't even spent two hours alone in my room when I heard a knock on my door. And it wasn't on my bedroom door, it was on the door to my apartment. I stayed sitting on my floor for a few minutes until I heard it again. And there it was. I slipped out of my room, noticing that Thorin had left, and slowly made my way over to the door. "Who is it?" I asked tentatively. 

"It's Bard. Can I talk to you?" I bit my lip for a moment, looking down at my feet. I was currently only wearing a large pajama shirt over my underwear, not really the outfit you wear to receive guests...but I wasn't in the mood to care.

"Did Thranduil send you?" The was a small pause after the words left my mouth.

"I would've come anyways."

"And why's that?" I lay my head against the wall next to the door, imagining the face of the man on the other side. The beautiful face of the man on the other side.

"Please...let me see your face, Lora." He was almost pleading with me. I wasn't used to guys pleading to see me. My hand slowly moved to the handle and I grasped it for a moment, sighing, then I pulled it open. Bard had placed both hands against the door and took a step back, running his eyes over me as I stepped out into the hall next to him. I folded my arms over my chest, making myself small, but seemingly more protected. I was scared. Why? Because I was scared that he was something bad too. Something I hadn't seen before, like with Thranduil...and I didn't want to lose him too. I bit my lip as all these thoughts ran through my head, then I looked up at Bard, who was just looking at me with such tenderness in his eyes. Okay, you're here, now what do you have to say for yourself? "Thranduil's books weren't selling...I think you may have known that..." 

"Are you here to speak for him or yourself?" Wow, where'd that boldness come from? But hey, right on, Lora. 

"I suggested that Thranduil write something a little closer to home...something not fantasy...and he chose to write you." I looked away and bit my lip again, remembering my name in black ink all over the pages in my hands. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I may have put it in his head without meaning to." He took a step towards me, then sighed, dropping his outstretched hands to his sides. "I would never do anything to hurt you, Lora...and I do get that you're hurt. He didn't mean to...but he used you and that's inexcusable." I didn't have anything to say to that. I only had one thing to say.

"I don't want to talk about Thranduil." I finally brought my eyes back up to his face and realized how close he had gotten to me. "Even if that's the only reason you came here."

"Thranduil was just an excuse to come here." The volume of his voice was rapidly dropping and he took another step towards me. Whoa boy, you stand there and I just might kiss you by accident. "I came here because I knew you were hurt. It doesn't matter who hurt you...I'd be here for you anyways." And that was it. I kissed him. I just had my hands on either side of his face and was kissing him, and I held it for a moment, then he was the one to pull away. "Whoa," he gave an awkward kind of laugh. Oops. This is it. I'm done for. 

"I'm sorry," I said quickly, my face immediately going red. Seriously, why did I just kiss him anyways? Ugh, Lora! I just ruined a perfectly good friendship. Typical me. 

"No, it's okay." He gave me an awkward smile. "I just wasn't expecting it."

"Yeah, I kind of ambushed you...I'm sorry." I took a step towards my apartment, wanting to disappear. 

"No, it's..." Bard suddenly stepped towards the stairs and looked down them, then he did the strangest thing. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into my apartment and pushed the door closed. Then he kissed me. So I kissed him back. And that made two of us, standing right inside my door, arms around each other, kissing like it was our first time. Cause it was. The first time that we had kissed each other, not the first time either of us had kissed someone. Cause I've obviously kissed Thorin and Bard's kissed...well I don't know but there had to be someone. Okay, Lora, shut up. Focus on Bard. Leave it up to me to make even a kiss awkward in my own brain. 

 

You know those moments that you have with someone and they're great and beautiful, then they leave and you have no clue how it happened or if it will happen again, you just know that you really really want it to? Yeah. That was like our kiss. We didn't have this long conversation after the kiss, we just had a drink together then he said he had to leave for work. And that was that...but he did tell me something before he left. He told me that Thranduil really wanted to talk to me, he just didn't want to approach me if he wasn't wanted. Well he wasn't wanted...not really. Maybe he was. I don't know. Then he kissed my forehead and left. And he left me feeling beautiful and wanted and lovely. And I went to bed that night very happy. The next morning was a different story. I hadn't turned off my alarm, so I woke up at the time I'd need to get up if I was going to work. I stared at the clock and decided that I would go to work like normal and just talk to him. I'd give him that chance. Work was the place that Bard was used to spending a lot of his time, and I certainly wouldn't want to give up seeing him. I pulled myself out of bed and into the shower, then out to the kitchen to make coffee, but I was interrupted by the sound of the door opening...and the entering of Thorin...my boyfriend. He was holding a cup-holder in one hand with two cups of coffee settled in it, and in the other hand he held a bag which I could only imagine contained donuts or something just as scrumptious. And it was from Dunkin' Donuts. And I wasn't one to turn down DD... "Good morning," he said almost sheepishly. "I was really stupid yesterday. You obviously had a bad day and I didn't take the chance to listen to you. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" And right at this moment, my brain decided to give me a flash-back. An image of me in the arms of another man, that had been stored yesterday, appeared in my brain. Oh shit. What had I done?

"Yeah," I forced a smile. "You're forgiven." Then I took the coffee from his hand and accepted the hug he offered. Of course I would forgive him. Because he had done nothing near as unforgivable as what I had done yesterday.

 

I stood in front of Thranduil's door for a few minutes, my head full of confusion and excitement. I was ready to walk through that door, hear what he had to say, and if it was good enough, I was prepared to forgive him. But only for Bard's sake. If he hadn't come to me yesterday, I wouldn't be here. But I was. Because my desire to be with Bard was greater than my self-respect at this point. I sighed. Maybe it wasn't as bad as all that, but that's how I felt right now. And then there was Thorin. That good man upstairs who had done nothing wrong...but who I had grown bored with. It was horrible, I know! But I was bored. But yet...I couldn't break up with him, not until something was said about me and Bard. I couldn't bear to hurt Thorin. Not for no reason. So I finally raised my hand and knocked. The door was opened instantly by Thranduil and he looked upset. His eyes were sunken and his hair was nowhere near as neat as it normally was. He looked like a mess...but one he had tried to control. A controlled mess. Oh good grief, Thranduil. "Lora, please come in." He sounded almost surprised to see me. I stepped in, resuming my protected stance of my arms around myself, keeping myself small and compact. "I don't even know where to start...but please know that I am so sorry." Every word he spoke was slow and meticulous, as if he was retaining his dignity, but his words were shredding it to pieces as he begged my forgiveness. "I never wanted you to think that you were being used because...you weren't. You were not being used. I enjoyed every moment that you were able to be here and I...I wanted to write you because Bard suggested...you were the most interesting part of my life. And I wasn't going to publish anything without showing it to you, it just...it wasn't ready yet." As far as explanations go, that wasn't too bad. 

"I really hate what you did," I said softly, looking up at him. "It really bothered me and it doesn't really matter whether I was...the best part of your life or not...you shouldn't have done it."

"I know. I'm sorry. Actually..." He stepped away from me for a moment and pulled a bag off the counter and handed it to me. I pulled it open and inside were shreds of paper. I looked up at him with the smallest hint of a smile on my face. "That's everything I printed. And this..." He pulled a flash drive from his pocket. "Is all of it. I don't have anything else on my computer. This is it." I took the drive from his hand and slid it into my pocket. I was definitely going to read that later. 

"Thank you."

"Thank you for coming back." He gave me a small smile, but I didn't return it. I'm only here for Bard, Thranduil. Literally. The only reason. 

 

Bard didn't show up that day, and that worried me. I went about business as usual, entertaining myself with Legolas. Thranduil remained at the table with his work, but I knew that it wasn't about me this time. After sitting down to dinner, Thranduil decided to speak to me again. "Lora, I meant to mention it to you earlier, but I have to ask for a favor."

"And what's that?" I started cutting into the delicious chicken that sat on my plate. 

"I have to be away for a few days next week and I was hoping that you wouldn't mind staying over two nights. Just so Legolas has someone in the house."

"Dad..." Legolas's whining voice came from next to me.

"No, Legolas, you cannot stay here alone and you cannot stay the night with Tauriel. We've spoken about this."

"Fine," Legolas grumbled.

"I'll double your pay for those days to extend into the night hours, if you wish." Thranduil's attention was back on me.

"That would be nice," I nodded. "I can do that for you." What about Bard? Is Bard going to be here? Why wouldn't you ask Bard to stay instead of me? "Why didn't you ask Bard to?" And there it is...out of my mouth and out for everyone to hear. Nicely done.

"Bard works late." Duh. "He will certainly be around if you need anything, though." Oh I could think of a few things that he could give me. And there goes my brain, straight into the gutter. Nice, again.

 

Thorin wanted to watch a movie that night. Fine, I can sit on the couch and try really hard to focus on you for two hours. It really sucked. I mean, he was a great guy and all I could think about was another guy. I really was awful. I was. For most of the movie, I was just staring at his profile as he stuffed popcorn into his mouth. It was strangely attractive...but he wasn't Bard. And that's what it came down to. Then came the knock at the door. "Who the hell is knocking at this hour?" Thorin mumbled in a frustrated tone. "Can you get it, babe?" Of course. Why not? Let me just serve you, your majesty. I rolled my eyes as I scrambled to my feet, but fixed a fake smile on my face as I pulled open the door. And there was Bard. 

"Oh sh-" I gasped, stepping out into the hall and quietly closing the door. "What are you doing here?" Bard had grinned when I first opened the door and now he was looking confused. 

"I'm sorry...I just hadn't seen you today and I didn't want to just leave after that kiss yesterday..." 

"Shh! My...cat is sleeping." I know that was lame...even for me. It was so lame that he laughed. 

"What's going on, Lora?" Listen up, I really don't want to tell you that I have a boyfriend yet. I mean, what would you say? Would you leave? Well I wouldn't want you to leave. And he might not even be my boyfriend for much longer. I gave a long dramatic sigh like I was about to finally tell him the truth. 

"My apartment is a huge mess, is it okay if I don't invite you in tonight?" Truthfully, it looked exactly as messy as it did yesterday when he pulled me inside to kiss me. But he just chuckled. 

"Alright. I don't have to come in. Can we go out though? Do you want to go get something to drink?" YES! That's what my brain was screaming. 

"Um, just give me a minute." I turned to open the door, but stopped and turned back to Bard, stood on my tiptoes, put my hand on the back of his neck and kissed him. And he kissed me back. And I was happy again. "Okay, I'll be back in a sec." I slipped into my apartment and Thorin was still in the same place, stuffing popcorn in his mouth, staring at the TV. I walked over to the couch and leaned on the arm. "Hey, I'm gonna head out to the store to grab a few things, okay? I'll be back sometime later."

"Okay." He tilted his head up for a kiss and I hesitated, then gave him a quick one. Okay, now that that's over...I ran into my room and grabbed a jacket and shoes, then, finally, was able to rejoin Bard on the stairs. And we headed out for a night on the town! More like we headed out for some awkward first-date conversations. You all know what that's like.


	7. The Cut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are all so amazing, thank you for your lovely comments <3\. I'm sorry this wasn't up sooner, but I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I felt guilty the whole time. And I mean the whole entire time. And there's nothing that makes awkwardness more awkward than guilt. I'm telling you. We didn't do anything very coupley...well apart from his hand on my back every once in a while and him ordering my drink. That's it. But still...I had lied to my boyfriend and kissed another man. Ugh. Suddenly all the fun that I thought I would be having turned into me hating myself. But Bard didn't care. Bard didn't know. Bard was perfect. "Thranduil asked me to stay with Legolas for a few days next week," I told the beautiful man sitting across from me at our tiny table for two. 

"I heard." Bard smiled before taking a sip of his drink.

"Will you come over and stay with me sometimes?" I gave a little shrug. In my head it probably looked cuter than it actually did. "Maybe after Legolas goes to bed sometime."

"Well I'm no stranger to Legolas." Bard was giving me a cheeky smile now. "Will you want me there?"

"Yeah. I think I will." And now we were just being flirty. The whole evening we had been flirty. We had also been silent. Just like we were being silent now. I could feel something between us and to the best of my knowledge...it was Thorin. At least on my side. I didn't know what it was on his side. But we weren't rushing anything. We were just...taking it slow. But even slow seemed awkward. If our date had been one in a movie, I would have rated it 3/10 - uneventful and somewhat unnecessary. He offered to walk me back up to my apartment though, which was nice. I decided to let him, though we couldn't linger outside of my apartment. As we were walking up the first flight of stairs, we heard a door open, then a voice familiar to both of us. Thranduil. It didn't bother me too much, but a look of horror crept onto Bard's face and he pulled me back down the stairs and into a different hallway, pressing his body against mine so we could blend in to the wall. We watched the blonde-haired beauty walk past us, then I noticed how fast Bard's heart was beating. Now it might be a little weird for your boss to see you with one of his oldest friends...but would it be that weird? Unless...he wasn't just an old friend...but Bard didn't give me time to ponder that now. He grabbed my hand and led me quickly up the stairs and to my door. "I had fun tonight," I said just because that was the thing everyone said after their first date. 

"I'm glad I got to see you," was Bard's reply. 

"Will you be at work - I mean, the Sylvan's apartment - one of these days?"

"I might." He smiled then took a step forward and pressed his lips onto my forehead. "Goodnight, my dear." Then he began the trip back down the stairs and I lingered outside my door for a moment. I was glad I did, since I got to overhear his conversation with Thranduil, who had come back up the stairs. 

"Bard," Thranduil sounded surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep...decided to come over."

"Oh," Thranduil's voice softened. "Then come in." Then I heard a door open, then close, signalling that the guy I had just been out with had gone into Thranduil's apartment...with Thranduil. And I didn't know how I felt about that. I didn't know how I should think about it.

 

I carefully cut up the onion and slid it into the pan, then moved onto the mushrooms, trying to keep the slices around the same size. As I was cutting, I remembered all the times I'd see someone with way smoother hands cutting up vegetables. I dumped the mushrooms into the pan then turned on the heat, grabbing my wooden spoon so I could saute them with butter. I used to think I was an above-average cook, then I walked into his kitchen and watched him expertly cook a meal with little to no effort. I smiled to myself. But Thranduil never put in too little onion and only realized that after he had already turned on the heat. I turned back to my cutting board and quickly started on another onion. A bit too quickly, because I ended up cutting my finger. I sucked in a bunch of air then stuck my finger in my mouth to stop the bleeding. How come Thranduil could do this so quickly and never cut himself? Well I was no Thranduil. I ran into my bathroom and put a band-aid on the cut that refused to stop bleeding. Oh well. I returned to my sauteing, finishing up my vegetables. I then took out two slices of bread, put cheese on each one, then made a sandwich with the sauteed vegetables in the middle. Then placed it back into the pan and made it a grilled cheese. Yeah. I'm pretty cool like that. It was nice to have my apartment all to myself for the time being. I knew now that I had to break up with Thorin, I couldn't continue seeing two guys. Yes, I know, I'd made some bad decisions, stop judging me. It was just hard to think about. I didn't want to hurt Thorin. As I sat on my couch and watched Kitchen Nightmares, I decided to tell Bard about Thorin first. Maybe that would jump-start a relationship conversation...and if it did...then I would be forced to speak to Thorin about it. 

 

"Morning." Thranduil's cheerful greeting had now become customary and I gave him a smile. 

"Morning, Thranduil."

"You're not carrying a coffee mug this morning, have you had your coffee?"

"No, I actually haven't." Truth behind that? My dang finger hurts and I need it to make coffee, ergo, no coffee this morning. 

"Then let me get you some." He turned around from where he was enjoying his bowl of diet, fat-free, bland as all hell cereal and poured me a mug of coffee. He then stepped to the fridge and pulled out the creamer because he knows me so well, then dumped in enough sugar to fill the state of Rhode Island. Perfection. He slid it across the counter to me then returned to his taste-less healthy cereal. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"No, actually I'm good." Then I went to pick up my coffee mug with my left hand...and heard Thranduil gasp. "What?"

"Your finger? What did you do?" He was now moving around the counter and taking my hand in his, examining it closely. The tip of my finger was now glowing red and was throbbing. 

"Oh...I cut it last night when I was making myself a sandwich." Okay, I didn't mean to put it like that. That actually made me sound really dumb. I wasn't  _just_  making a sandwich, I was cutting onions for a sandwich...technically. Oh, and side note, his hands are really, really soft. Like really soft. 

"Can I look at it?" I gave him my assent by a sort of shrug and he gently pulled off the band-aid to reveal a nasty-looking cut. I'm not going to describe it, cause I assume you can imagine a gross cut that looks infected. "Did you put anything on before putting on the band-aid?"

"Nope, I just stuck a band-aid on there." Was that wrong? Oh it probably was. Look at me...I can't even take care of something as small as a finger. Why do you have me watching your child? 

"Well I'm gonna put some antibacterial cream on it..." He moved quickly over to his fridge and took down the first aid kit from on top of it that every responsible parent had. To be honest, all I had in my apartment were band-aids and I'm pretty sure I used the last one on my finger last night. Super responsible young adult right here. His fingers slowly applied the creme, then gently wrapped a large band-aid around my finger. "If that gets any worse, let me know and I'll take you to a clinic." 

"Thanks." I offered him a smile, then suddenly remembered that he knew that I had a boyfriend...yet he had said that he would be the one to take me to a clinic...was that intentional? And I've been kissing Bard. And we were back to that. I picked up my mug again and tried to drown my sorrows in  the delectable brown liquid, but even coffee this delicious couldn't hide my shame. Okay, now I'm just trying to be poetic and failing badly. Very badly. Let's just move on to the next paragraph.  

 

It was the first time that Bard had visited the apartment since we'd...kissed. Literally, all we've basically done is kiss, but still...I thought it was going to be really awkward. Turns out, it wasn't. It was intensely awkward, but it was only intensely awkward for me, at least that's what it looked like from my point of view. Maybe everyone else could just hide it really well. I was casually sketching at the table, Thranduil was sitting at the other end with his computer, and Legolas was putting together some complicated model of something in-between us. Casual family setting. Except I wasn't in the family and Bard was walking through the door. "Hello everyone." He approached the table and I knew that my face was going red, but I couldn't help it. I prayed that nobody else would notice. "What are you building, Legolas?" Smart. Talk to the child. The child knows nothing. 

"Model of the Death Star." Told you it was a complicated model of something. 

"Very nice. You need any help with that?"

"Can you make these fit together?" Legolas slid two tiny pieces across the table towards Bard, who seated himself in one of the chairs and picked both pieces up. "Hey." At first, I thought he was saying it to me, but then he looked over at Thranduil, who looked up at him over his computer and gave him a smile.

"Hey. Did you talk to your boss?" Talk to his boss? About what?

"I did. It's all set."

"Good." Thranduil still had that strange smile on his face. "Thank you." Then Bard's attention was placed on the two pieces in his fingers until he had done the required task. It suddenly felt weird that Thranduil and Bard had a conversation about something that I didn't know about. I mean, it shouldn't feel weird, there was tons about Bard that I didn't know...but it still did.

"There you go." He gave the now fitted together pieces to their young owner, who expressed his gratitude. "You're welcome. And you have a very good drawing there, Lora." Me? I looked up at him to see him looking at me intently. I glanced down at my drawing, which had taken shape in the form of a rather life-like looking bag of potato chips. My mind was in weird places, I don't know. 

"Thanks." And here comes the blushing again. Seriously, can I get rid of this? Is there a medication I can take? No. Damnit.

 

He was leaving today and while I was excited to see what would happen while he was gone...I was going to miss him. Don't tell anyone I said that. But here was the awkward goodbye where nobody knew what to do. Thranduil told Legolas to be good and Legolas said he would be if I would be. That was fair. Thranduil gave me a few last minute instructions about bedtimes and locks that he'd already told me at least twice. "You going to be okay?" Well that was a strange question...but it was nice he asked. 

"Yeah," I nodded. "Are you?" That made him smile. Oh gosh were we flirting? I didn't mean to flirt. I take back any flirtiness. Flirtiness isn't a word...in case you were interested. 

"See you in a few days, Lora." 

"Bye, Thranduil." Then he was closing the door behind him and I heard it click. And he was officially gone. I turned around to face the younger version of the recently departed. "Game time."

"I wanna play Black Ops. I'm gonna call Tauriel." 

"Uh uh uh," I put my hand on his head to stop him from walking away. "We're gonna play a game first."

"What kind of game?"

"A grown-up game." This was true, as he was about to find out. A few minutes later as we found ourselves sitting on his bedroom floor, he found out. "Truth or dare."

"This is stupid."

"Truth. Or. Dare." You little nitwit. What kind of a word is nitwit? An image of a circle of old ladies telling jokes suddenly flashed into my mind. And if you don't get that, you're the nitwit.

"Fine. Truth." He was sighing in frustration while I was grinning evilly. 

"So are you really into Tauriel or...what?"

"Gross!" 

"That's not an answer."

"Yes it is! It means that's a gross question!"

"Still not an answer." I was evil, I knew it.

"No!"

"Good enough. Now ask me."

"Truth or dare?" He was mumbling the words out under his breath.

"Dare." You never want to give a nine year-old the power to ask you any question they want. Now it was his turn to smile evilly. Oops.

"Spin around until you throw up."

"Whoa, wait a second. I change my answer. I choose truth."

"You can't do that!"

"Yes I can, I'm the babysitter. Now give me a truth."

"Cheater." He changed his sitting position as he thought for a moment. "Have you ever played a video game? Like a real one?" Piece of cake. Mental note to always choose truth from now on. 

"Yes. I dated a guy in college who liked shooting games."

"I bet you sucked," he laughed. True, but I'm not gonna give you that information.

"Truth or dare."

"Truth." 

"Okay...has Bard ever spent the night here?" Okay, I know this is on the list of questions that you should never ask a young child, but how else was I supposed to find out? Yes, again, I know it's wrong. Shut up. Strangely, he had to think about it for a minute.

"Maybe like once."

"Where'd he sleep?"

"It's my turn."

"Fine, I'll save that for later. I choose truth."

"Okay..." The evil grin reappeared. I didn't like his evil grin. I didn't trust his evil grin. "You're into my dad, aren't you?"

"Psh, you need to get that out of your head, little man." Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

"That's not an answer, also, you have a boyfriend upstairs so why do you like someone else when you've already got someone?" Ouch. That hit deep. 

"You know what, game over. That's it." I started to get to my feet.

"Hey, wait, you wanted to play this game."

"And now I don't. Go scurry off and do something else. You can call Tauriel now." So he left me standing in the middle of the room as he ran off to call his red-haired not-crush. "I'm gonna talk to Bard tonight, okay conscience? Is that good for you?" Great. And now I've started talking to myself. It's bad enough when it's in my brain and now...now it's out-loud. Just great.


	8. The Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that I didn't have a chapter up sooner! Hopefully these two chapters will make up for it :D

Romantic roaring fire. Piles of pink and red pillows. Roasting marshmallows. Clinking glasses of red wine. These are the things that romantic dates are made of. The perfect setting for a long overdue serious conversation. Well I had a table. And a bowl of cereal that I was eating. And he was sitting across from me turning his class ring around in his fingers. I was shoving the sugary goodness that is Cookie Crisp into my mouth, trying to finish what I had started before he got here. And yes, I brought sugary cereal down from my apartment so I could eat something unhealthy while Thranduil was away. But now here we were. "How was work?" The most domestic thing ever came out of my mouth.

"It was good. How was your day?" I felt like we were two children playing house on the playground. I had put Legolas to bed, made myself a snack, then let in this beautiful man.

"It was fine. I'm sorry you couldn't say goodbye to Thranduil before he left." Now I don't know why I said this. Probably just to get a reaction out of him. I didn't get much of one in his face, just a shrug as he watched the piece of metal turning between his fingers. 

"He came by work to say goodbye."

"He did?" I raised my eyebrows, my spoon pausing between the bowl and my mouth. He just nodded casually. You wanna tell me why? That's what I wanted to say. I ended up saying something completely different. "So, you wanna talk about us?" That caught his attention and his eyes went up to mine. 

"What do you want us to be, Lora?" He slid the ring onto his finger then folded his arms and rested them on the table. "I want to hear what you want."

"What I want?" I put my spoon into the bowl and pushed it aside so the space between us was empty. I then mimicked his stance, folding my arms and resting them on the table. "I want to be with you and I want to be able to say that I'm with you." I was hoping that would get him to smile. It didn't. He sighed and looked down, reaching up to brush some of his messy hair from his face.

"I want to be with you too...I just want us both to know what we're getting into." He looked back up at me. "Can we take this slow? Can you trust me?" Trust you? Isn't that asking a lot? But I gave him a smile, then he smiled back, reaching over, taking my hand and squeezing it gently. 

"You want us to be a secret, don't you?" After I asked, the smile started to fade from his face.

"I just want us not to say anything until we've gotten to know each other and know what we're doing." Every book and every movie I've watched, and I mean every one, says that if a guy isn't willing to be public with everything, then don't get into the relationship. But...like...this was different right? He was just being careful because we didn't know each other that well. And I could respect that, right? I could. And so, like every other stupid girl you've ever heard of, I was going to get into this thing with him. I knew it would start a battle in my head, but what would you do? It made sense...didn't it? "I really like you, Lora." And there he went, melting me completely. And a completely melted Lora said stuff.

"I'm seeing someone else."

"What?" He instantly looked confused. I would have looked confused to. 

"I'm not cheating on you with anyone, I'm actually...cheating on him with you."

"You have a boyfriend." He sounded almost defeated as he started to pull away, but I grabbed his hand. 

"I do right now...but the relationship was over before we...I'm going to break it off." Another thing that everyone told you was that if someone broke up with their boyfriend or girlfriend for you, what is to say that they won't do the same to you for someone else? But aren't we always the exception to the rule? "I feel so stupid," I admitted. "I feel like we're starting this off all wrong."

"Are we?" His voice was now gentle and kind. "I still really like you, Lora. I want to see where this goes."

"I really like you too." I put my other hand on top of his and squeezed it firmly. 

"Then come here." And he leaned across the table and kissed me. It was a slow kiss, but one that felt like we were sealing the deal. We wanted to be together, so we kissed. 

 

Bard and I seemed to like to be silent with each other, so we decided to be silent together on the couch. He lay against the back of the couch and I lay facing him. We kissed for a while, then I wrapped my arms around him and lay my head on his chest. He was staring at the ceiling, but my eyes were closing. And I fell asleep with him. The next morning came too soon. I woke up first and after checking my phone on the floor, was very glad that I had woken up. I slid off the couch, hitting the floor softly, then ran my hand through my now-messy hair. Then I got that feeling...you know, the one where you had just been dreaming about something very interesting but you're not quite sure what it was. So I sat there on the floor, next to the couch that held a sleeping Bard, and squinted at the dining room table, trying to remember what it was. It was definitely something involving bananas. Definitely. Then I heard a horrifying sound. Legolas's door was opening. I scrambled to my feet so fast that I almost fell over. I slid into the kitchen and frantically tried to make my hair look neater, just as the little blond boy appeared. "Morning." I tried to sound like I'd been awake for hours as I "casually" leaned against the counter, but, as usually happened with the first words out of your mouth in the morning, I was croaking. Like a giant bullfrog. With good skin. What?

"Morning." Legolas climbed onto one of the stools on the other side of the counter. "Did you make breakfast?" Not yet, silly child, I was sleeping very comfortably with my new fella. Fella? What am I a country hick?

"What do you want?" I asked, walking over to my bag on the floor and taking out my brush. 

"I want the cereal that you brought down from your apartment." Like hell you do.

"Your dad doesn't want you to eat that stuff, come on, what do you want?" I pulled my hair into a pony-tail then rejoined him at the counter. "I can make you a hard boiled egg and some toast?"

"Fine." Don't 'fine' me, at least I'm willing to make you something. "Are you gonna make Bard some breakfast too?" Oh shit. 

"If Bard...wants some breakfast." My eyes drifted over to the couch where Bard was just waking up, probably woken up by the little blond menace. I started a few pieces of toast in the toaster then put some water on to boil the eggs. Just as breakfast was finished and I was separating the food onto three plates, Bard joined us at the counter, climbing onto a stool next to Legolas. I slid a plate of food towards him and he looked up at me. Then he smiled. A big beautiful smile that made me feel like everything in the world was alright and couldn't possibly get any worse. 

"Morning." Of course his morning voice didn't sound like a frog. 

"Morning." I climbed onto the stool beside him and he squeezed my hand for a moment before digging in. Legolas decided that breakfast time was the time to discuss some new line of Legos that were coming out...Bard and I decided that breakfast was the time to look at each other and smile as much as we could. We were happy. And Legolas certainly was too, he just didn't have the same wonderful reason. 

 

Bard had to work for just a few hours around lunch time, but promised to come back when he was finished. Legolas was begging me to let Tauriel come over and I told him that the minute Bard walked in the door, he was welcome to call her. This may have sounded like a good idea from a child-care point of view, but I was just doing it so Legolas wouldn't leave me bored by myself for the day. So instead of spending time with the people we wanted to, Legolas and I spent our time building big battleships out of Legos, while he droned on about what new sets he wanted and I droned on about how much money they probably cost. We then played a rousing game of that credit card version of Monopoly. I told him how we didn't have this version when I was young and he went on to insult my age by saying I was probably really old. I guess I opened myself up for that one. Then the afternoon came and my beautiful man walked through the door. I was sitting at the counter, drawing a rough sketch of Legolas as he lay on the floor reading. Bard kissed my forehead gently then asked how my day was. Sweet man that he was. "It was pretty good. Ask Legolas who won Monopoly."

"You were cheating!" The ignorant ignoramus's voice came from the living room.

"How can I cheat at a version of Monopoly that I've never played before." Thank you, Google. 

"You were!"

"Now Legolas, it's not polite to accuse a lady of cheating." My knight in shining armor came to the rescue. 

"And didn't I say you could call someone when Bard came back?" I reminded him.

"Yeah!" That made Legolas jump up and run to get his phone. 

"Who?" Bard asked as he brushed a few stray hairs behind my ear. 

"Tauriel."

"Ahh, the girl he says he's not interested in." We both chuckled at that. "She's a sweet girl, though."

"Have they known each other all their lives?"

"Basically." Bard's hands were now gently running over my waist as he spoke. "Their mothers were best friends."

"Oh." That intense pain I had felt for Thranduil after hearing the story of his wife's death momentarily hit me again. Bard's lips found mine in the next moment and I kissed him back, gently wrapping my arms around his neck. We only held the kiss for a moment, knowing that Legolas was around, but it was still sweet. It was still perfect. Every kiss with him was perfect.  


	9. The Free Meal

Legolas's beautiful red-haired playmate didn't waist any time in reaching the apartment. Her knock was heard a few minutes later and Bard let her in. "Hello, Mr. Bowman." She stepped into the apartment wearing a helmet and carrying a skateboard. 

"Did you ride that over here?" I asked. 

"Yeah." She sounded out of breath, but she was glowing. Is that what exercise did to you? You see...I wouldn't know. Hey, you're sitting here and reading this so it's not like you're exercising either. Tauriel pulled off her helmet, revealing beautiful French braids that covered the top of her head and met in a single braid that ran down the back of her hair. 

"Your hair looks beautiful," I told her as she dumped her gear by the door and Legolas ran in to greet her. "Did your mom do it?"

"Mrs. Lorien did."

"Mrs. Lorien?"

"My foster mom." I suddenly felt that horrible sadness that everyone gets when they hear that someone is a foster kid. Maybe it's wrong to get that...but I guess it's just our expression of sadness that they don't have a good, whole family. 

"Do you know how to French braid?" She probably did. She probably knew how to do everything. I was about to be outdone by a nine year-old, I just knew it. 

"Nope." 

"Tauriel," Legolas's voice was impatient as he stood beside her. 

"Shut up." She told him, then turned back to me.

"Do you want to learn how?" 

"Sure." Ha! In your face, Legolas! I'm so much more entertaining. 

"Alright," I held up my hand. "Everyone into the living room, we're going to learn how to French braid."

"What?" Legolas was practically in tears. Well he actually wasn't, but my mental image of him was. But, in spite of all his complaining, a few minutes later found us all sitting cross-legged on the carpet. Legolas and Bard were playing Mario Kart and I sat behind Bard while Tauriel sat behind Legolas, and, using the boys' hair, I was teaching her how to French braid. 

"Watch your thumb here as you cross the next strand over," I told her, glancing over at her work in Legolas's hair as I did Bard's. 

"Oh fuuuu-haha." Bard exclaimed. "Watch the hair, Lora."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I turned my attention back to the dark hair between my fingers. "You're gonna look so pretty when I'm done, though."

"I don't doubt it," he laughed. 

"Do you have an elastic that I can hold this part with?" Tauriel asked.

"An...oh dang. I didn't bring any down. I'll run upstairs and grab a bunch. Here, Tauriel, can you hold this in your other hand." The little girl reached over and grabbed the part of Bard's hair that I handed to her, accidentally yanking Bard's head to the side. He let out another exclamation, barely avoiding a swear again. 

"You better hurry up," he informed me. 

"I'll be right back!" I jumped up and ran to the door, yanking it open before sprinting up the two flights of stairs to my apartment. I fumbled with my key, then burst in through the door and ran straight into my bedroom. After collecting a handful of supplies, I started for the door, but then noticed something on the counter. First, the counter was rather clean, but a piece of paper sat on it with my name on it. "Oh no." Everything dropped from my hands and I snatched up the note, turning it over to find Thorin's familiar handwriting. 

 

_I told you that I'm not a fool, Lora. I love you,_

_you know that, but I don't think that you can_

_love me right now. While you deny that you_

_were cheating on me, I believe you may_

_have placed your affections with another. I_

_will not continue to hold you to me if that's_

_not where your heart is._

_I wish you every happiness._

_\- Thorin Oakenshield_

"Bard," I called softly from the doorway. He couldn't hear me over the video game, so I called his name again louder, and this time he turned around as much as he could with Tauriel holding his hair. "Can you come here?"

"Can I let go?" Tauriel asked.

"Yes, you can let go." She released him and Bard got to his feet and walked over to where I was standing.

"What is it?" He sounded concerned. I let him step out into the hallway then closed the door to the Sylvan's apartment behind him, then handed him the note I had found. His eyes scanned it quickly, then he looked up at me. 

"I didn't treat him well, Bard." The words came out of my mouth with a choking sound and my eyes were filling with tears. "I wasn't good to him." And he didn't hesitate. He pulled me close against his chest and held me as I cried. He didn't care that it was about another man. The fact was that I was hurting, and he was there. He held me tightly with no intention of letting me go.

 

"Don't make dinner yet."

"No, it's getting late, I'm gonna make dinner." 

"I said," Bard got up and walked around the counter before taking both my hands in his. "Don't make dinner yet."

"Do you want us to starve?" Sometimes in life, we are given perfect timing. I am rarely blessed with this luxury, but Bard apparently was, for at this very moment there was a knock on the door. Legolas was kind enough to disturb himself from his video games and open the door. In walked the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Probably the most beautiful woman in the whole world. 

"Thank you so much for coming, Mrs. Lorien." Bard grinned then stepped over to give the supermodel-looking woman a hug. 

"Anything for you, Bard."

"Lora, this is Mrs. Lorien, she's Tauriel's foster mom."

"Galadriel, please." The lady said as she held her hand out to me. I felt like I should fall down and worship her, or at the very least kiss her hand, but thankfully I had enough sense to just shake her beautiful white hand. 

"Nice to meet you," I said awkwardly. She was definitely related to Thranduil, there was no other way around it. What was this beautiful un-earthly race that they came from?

"Mrs. Lorien has agreed to babysit the kids while we go out." Bard was now grinning and I think tears were coming back to my eyes because my eyesight blurred again. 

"How nice," The words came out very awkwardly, but I think the look on my face conveyed my gratitude. At least I hope it did. Maybe it didn't. But I couldn't express how happy I was that I would be able to go out alone with Bard on today of all days. Thank the gods above. 

 

So we got finally our red wine as we sat at our beautiful table for two that was covered with an actual white table-cloth. Bard ordered some expensive appetizer and didn't tell me that it was squid until after I'd tasted it. Smart move considering I wouldn't have eaten it otherwise. We ate two beautiful steaks and had just ordered dessert when Bard started acting weird. He started looking around at all the waiters. "What?" I whispered over to him. 

"Trust me," He told me. I didn't like that. Not one bit. He then seemed to find what he was looking for and suddenly jumped out of his seat and got down on one knee in front of me. What the mother-. 

"Lora," He looked up at me and I instantly went red as a million things went through my head. The main thing was, don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. Whatever 'this' was, I certainly didn't want him to do it. 

"Bard, get up," I whispered frantically. 

"We've only known each other for a little while, but I feel like I've known you my whole life."

"Sure, I feel the same, but get up, people are looking." The words were coming out of my mouth as quick as they appeared in my head. 

"Not until I ask you the most important question that you will ever hear." AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I was thinking something similar to that. "Lora," he pulled a circular piece of hell out of his pocket and held it up. Wait a second...that was one ugly ring. You're gonna propose to me with that piece of shit? How rude. "Will you marry me?" I don't know how long I stared at him in sheer panic. I think it was a while, because he was nudging me. "Say yes." he was mouthing it. Hell no, young man. I'm not selling my soul to you this soon. I looked around and noticed that every eyeball in the place was trained on me. "Say yes and we'll talk it over later." He was whispering so low that I barely heard him, but that was the most sensible thing I'd heard. I couldn't say no in front of all these people, I just couldn't. 

"Yes." I think it came out very strangely, but nobody in the room cared. All we heard was cheers and I felt like I died. Bard stuck the ring on my finger and kissed me. I don't think I kissed him back. Everything was kind of a blur at that moment in time. 

"Congratulations!" Someone with a thick Italian accent was speaking. "Round of applause for the happy couple!" Thanks, but can I die now? "Congratulations!" He was shaking Bard's hand, then he shook mine. "And for the happy couple, the bill is on the house!" My life is over. I just know it. I don't know what happened next, I just know that a moment later I was out in the warm air with Bard and he was laughing hysterically. 

"What. The. He-"

"I'll take that back." Bard slid the obviously-fake ring off of my finger and put it into his pocket. "And that's how you get your meal free."

"Are you kidding me?!" I yelled as I shoved him as hard as I could. "You gave me a heart attack!" He was still laughing.

"I'm so sorry." He gave me a quick kiss. "I knew you wouldn't mind after we got a free meal though." 

"I hate you so, stop laughing, I hate you so so so so," Oh fuck it. I was laughing now too. It was a good scheme, I could admit that much. "Don't you ever do that to me again."

"On the contrary, madame. I intend to do that all over town."

"What?"

"We're gonna see how much free food we can get." Then he grabbed my hand and took off running.

"What?! Bard!"

 

In case you're interested to know...you can get a lot of free food when you get engaged a hundred times in one night. We got free ice cream, a free take-out meal, more free ice cream, free coffee, free donuts, another free meal, even a free hot dog. We were going to be fed for days off of our fake engagements. We sat down in a less-expensive restaurant and after Bard got down on his knee, I had to put on my fake shocked face. "Why Bard, what are you doing?" 

"I'm asking you to marry me, my darling, that's what I'm doing."

"But here?!"

"Right here. Right now. In this Dennys." 

"Now I love you, Lora dear, and are you going to make me stay down here until I get all cramped up, or will you say yes."

"Yes!" We even had the kiss down pretty good.

"Oh congratulations!" The owner came over clapping. "So happy for you folks. And for the happy couple, free dessert." He then walked off, leaving us with the appetizer we'd ordered. 

"Fuck," Bard mouthed, which made me laugh. We'd gotten so much free food and had only been given free dessert from a Dennys. Word of advice men, don't propose at Dennys. They're cheep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the idea for the fake proposals from a random post on tumblr. I don't know who made it, so shout out to them, whoever they are :)  
> Also, Thranduil will be returning in the next chapter, don't you worry ;). I have a great scene planned for him.


	10. The Day Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of fun stuff in this chapter, but then there's that one scene. Mmm. I'm happy with how that came out.

We decided to go up to my apartment after our date for a little bit. Honestly, I just wanted to drag on my time with him as much as I could. We started out in the living room, but it wasn't long before we made it to the bedroom. Yeah, we slept together. And I'm not even sorry about it. After that, we had to call it a night and he went home while I went back to the Sylvan's apartment where I found Tauriel and Legolas asleep in sleeping bags on the living room floor. Galadriel was sitting on the couch with a book and gave me a beautiful smile when I walked in the door. I thanked her for her time, then agreed that it would be best for Tauriel to just spend the night. She told me that she had made a breakfast casserole for us and rattled off the cooking instructions. I think she's one of those angels on earth. Seriously though. After she left, I realized that I had spent the last night on the couch, but...where had Thranduil intended for me to sleep? My eyes drifted towards his bedroom door, but only for a moment. I could never sleep in there. I decided to just bunk down on the couch again and fell asleep within a matter of minutes. 

 

It wasn't until we were all sitting at the table eating the casserole that I realized that Legolas was still sporting a French braid. Tauriel had done a great job with it and I smiled to myself when I realized how wavy Legolas's hair was going to be when he eventually took it out. Tauriel and Legolas were regular chatterboxes during breakfast though, talking all about some sort of video game. I was really over the whole video game thing. I left the table before either one of the kids, and started to clean up the kitchen. I turned on the water in the sink and was just squirting in an outrageous amount of soap with which to wash the dishes when I heard the sound of the door getting unlocked, then it opened and there was Thranduil. "Good morning, everyone," he said cheerfully. Legolas gave a joyous exclamation from the table.

"Dad!" Thranduil was smiling as he greeted his son and Tauriel. 

"Did you all have a good time while I was away?" He turned towards me as he spoke, but Legolas was the first to reply.

"Oh yes! Tauriel slept over last night!" And then it hit me. What if Legolas said something about Bard?

"Oh she did, did she." I wasn't sure how Thranduil would take the news that Tauriel had slept over, but he didn't seem to mind. 

"Then Mrs. Lorien babysat us while Lora was out and she made us cupcakes." She did? Why was the none left for me?

"Oh, where did you go?" Thranduil asked me casually as he took off his coat. Oh...me? Um...nowhere.

"I went out and grabbed a bite to eat then had to go upstairs for a while." The image of Bard's body pressed against mine decided to mosey on into my brain, but I immediately pushed it out. Now wasn't the time. 

"Oh, okay." He walked around to where I stood by the sink. "Lora?"

"Yes." Oh no, what now?

"The sink is about to overflow."

"Oh sh-" I exclaimed as I quickly turned off the water. A bunch of soap suds had flowed over onto the counter and I busied myself with awkwardly cleaning them up. And then he laughed, a cute kind of 'it's okay' laugh. "Sorry." I brushed my hair out of my face as I tried to make myself a smidge more presentable. Yes, smidge is a word. "How was your trip?" Time to change the subject. 

"It was good," he nodded as he leaned against the counter and decided to fold his arms, creating a rather attractive picture. "Were you okay here?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Did Bard ever stop in?" Um...haha...funny you should ask...

"Yeah, he stopped by." I wasn't lying, and I wasn't gonna say just how much Bard had been there. In response, he just nodded.

"Well, Lora, since I am home, I'm gonna take the rest of the day off, so you are welcome to go home if you wish."

"Really?" I think I sounded a little too excited at that prospect. He gave a light sort of chuckle.

"Really."

"Thanks." It didn't take me long to pull together my stuff then shoot out the door and up to my apartment. Alone at last. Wow. Who knew I liked being alone so much?

 

So I spent the rest of my day in my apartment. You don't care to know what I was doing...do you? No, you don't. I'm telling you, you don't. Ugh. Fine. Here's a snapshot of what I did on my day off:

 

Buzz: *Pulls Woody from bowl of fruit loops* Are you all right? I'm proud of you, Sheriff. A lesser man would've talked under such torture.

Woody: *Rubs mark on forehead while using spoon as mirror* I sure hope this isn't permanent.

Me: *Eats another heaping spoonful of Nutella, surrounded by candy wrappers and half-eaten bags of chips* Best. Movie. Ever.

 

Stop judging me. I can feel you judging me. What would you do on your day off? ANYWAYS, it was a good day. And I did end up cleaning my room a little bit. Sort of. I did what girls do when they clean. I started off full of energy and high hopes, then the second thing I picked up was something that I had thought I'd lost and hadn't seen in forever, so I sat down on my bed to examine it for the next six hours. Needless to say, it was not a productive day, but it was a day off so it didn't have to be. 

 

But it was only one day off. Then I was back to work. Bard called me instead of my alarm going off, so I talked to him while I got ready for work. "Will you be coming by today?" I asked while waiting for my coffee to finish. Yes, some of us have old-fashioned coffee pots and not those new-fangled K-Cup machines because some of us asked for one for Christmas and didn't get one. Insert angry face. Anyways, I asked Bard if he was coming over today and he replied. 

"Uh no, I don't think so."

"Really? I'd love to see you." The damn machine finally finished and I picked my mug and headed for the door. 

"I don't think I'll be coming to see you at the Sylvan's anymore. I'm gonna take you out tomorrow night though."

"Not coming anymore?" I locked my door behind me then started down the two flights of stairs between me and the Sylvans. "Why? Did we do something wrong?"

"No, nothing like that. I have to go honey, I'll call you tonight."

"Okay," I said the word slowly to show my confusion. "Talk to you later." Then he hung up and I was walking down the last few steps. Bard? That was weird. But it was 9:00, so I knocked on the door and Legolas let me in. 

"Dad's making me clean my room today," he complained.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, so I'm gonna go...do that." And he disappeared down the hall towards his room. I found Thranduil washing dishes in the kitchen, which was an unexpected sight, but there he was in his black slacks and light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hair was pulled into a messy top knot, but still looked better than my hair, which had been straightened this morning. 

"Uh, good morning." I dropped my bag on the table then approached the offspring of the sun god. 

"Morning." His voice sounded...off. 

"You...okay?" I took another step forward, intently watching Thranduil's face, which was focused on the pan he was scrubbing. He was staring intensely at the pan. Come on..tell me what's wrong. 

"I heard that Bard spent the night here." Oh...shoot.

"He did." I spoke calmly, but over at the sink, Thranduil had frozen. 

"I heard that he spent the night here...with you." 

"He...did." There was a loud sound in the sink, then Thranduil's soap-covered hands were gripping the edge of the counter tightly. His knuckles were already pure white and his eyes were squeezed shut. "We didn't...we didn't sleep together...I mean, we did, we just didn't...We just fell asleep on the couch."

"And you think that's an appropriate thing to do while you're looking after a child?" He wasn't loud, but every word he said cut right into me as he said them harshly. 

"I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't think." But I don't think he was listening. The moment the words left my mouth, he was leaving the sink and headed straight for his office. The door slammed behind him. 

 

I sat on the floor, leaning against the couch. He hadn't come out all day. Not for lunch, not for anything. I had been stupid, I knew I had. What was I thinking, allowing Bard and I to be so open with each other while I had a responsibility like Legolas. It was foolish of me. I knew that now. My eyes looked at the closed door for the thousandth time today... I just wanted him to know that I was sorry...that it wouldn't happen again. Summer was almost over and I didn't want to leave with him having such a bad opinion of me. That would hurt. Who am I kidding...this hurt right now...knowing that he was sitting behind that door hating me for what I did. That hurt. "Lora?" Legolas called to me from down the hall. 

"Yes?" I reached up and brushed away the tears that had magically appeared on my cheeks as the little blonde boy walked towards me. 

"Are we gonna have dinner soon?"

"Dinner? Um..." I looked at the clock and realized that the poor child had a right to be hungry. "Yes, let me see what we have." I pulled myself to my feet and Legolas followed me to the kitchen.

"Isn't dad gonna cook?"

"I don't think he will tonight." I started rummaging through the fridge and it wasn't long before I had put together a healthy salad with grilled chicken in it. Fit for a king. Or at least for me and Legolas. So we sat down and started eating, pouring on as much fat-free, gluten-free, fun-free salad dressing as we wanted. Legolas and I played I Spy, but that got boring fast since we both knew this apartment like the back of our hand now. We played an advanced version where we could pick items behind the other person, and the other person had to guess what it was from memory and not turn around. I won that version. When you look around at everything every day instead of playing video games all day, you'd be surprised how fast you could memorize an apartment. But, we didn't have to eat alone for long. Thranduil joined us at the table with a bowl of salad, surprising the heck out of me. I think I just stared at him with very wide eyes for a few seconds. Thranduil, I'm sorry if that was creepy. He gave me a small smile, then slid a folded piece of paper and a pencil towards me. I opened the paper and read, 'I'm sorry I got mad. Can we be friends again?' I looked up at him and he smiled again, so there was no way I could say no. I wrote, 'Yes :). As long as you know how sorry I am.' I slid the paper back towards him and got a glare from Legolas. What, little cretin? This has nothing to do with you. Thranduil didn't take long in passing on his reply, so I opened the paper again to find, 'Apology accepted. We were both wrong.' And that settled it. 

"Can I be excused?" Legolas's little spiteful voice came from beside his dad. 

"Yes, you may." The moment the permission was given, Legolas got up very quickly and disappeared down the hall into his room. 

"There's ice cream in your freezer," I informed the man who dermatologists can't stand. "And I'm gonna eat it if you don't tell me I can't."

"You know I won't," Thranduil laughed. "You're welcome to it." And that really sealed the deal. Because hey, who doesn't like ice cream?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you happen to be interested in the Toy Story script: http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/t/toy-story-transcript.html  
> Hey, I had to make sure I got it right. I put in my favorite quote from the movie though xD.   
> Now, analysis please!!! :D


	11. The Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I reached 100 comments guys!! Thank you so much! You are all so good to me <3

True to his word, Bard never came back to the apartment while I was there. I wasn't sure if that was his decision...or Thranduil's. I would think about things like that while I sat on the living room floor watching Thranduil walk from his office to the kitchen. Thranduil's actions had basically gone back to normal, though sometimes he would seem a bit on edge or randomly unhappy. But that didn't bother me. I would just snap-chat another picture to Bard. And yes, that relationship is going very well, thank you for asking. I liked him a lot and he happened to like me, so that helped. I liked him...a lot. And I told him that. "I like you too, Lora," he told me, then pressed his lips into my forehead gently. 

"Don't you think its time for us to just come out and say it...that we're together?" After I asked, I was scared. Like terrified. What if he said no? But he didn't.

"Yes." He gave me a small smile, which I responded to with a kiss.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me, its something we had to figure out together."

"I don't think this was." I didn't say it meanly, but I did say it. "Its not together when I'm just waiting for your permission to tell people how I feel about you." Then he sighed.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't fair to you."

"I don't think it was."

"I'm sorry," he repeated, kissing my forehead again.

"I know that it had something to do with Thranduil...are you ready to talk about that?" That took guts for me to say, I just knew that I couldn't be wrong. "I...was cheating on Thorin with you...were you cheating on Thranduil...with me?" Then there was silence. He wasn't looking at me, he was looking at the ground in front of us. 

"No," he said gently. "I'm not ready to talk about it." Then he looked at me. "I'm sorry I keep making you wait."

"This is different." I gave him a small smile. "I wouldn't expect you to tell me everything so soon, just some day."

"And I will some day." Then he kissed my fingers that he was holding and I lay my head on his shoulder. As much as I wanted to know what was going on between him and my boss, I could respect that he wasn't ready to tell me. But he would. Because he said he would.

 

What happened to the good board games like Don't Wake Daddy and Chutes and Ladders...I knew how to play those. Instead, I was sitting on a pillow with some new-fangled controller in my hands as Legolas went through every character on Smash Bros telling me what game they were from and what their strengths were. Let's be honest, no matter what strengths these characters had, I was gonna go for whoever I felt was the hottest. And I did. I picked some guy named Snake, who had some great facial hair going on. Of course when we started playing the game, I only got to play for a few seconds before I was destroyed by some robot character. You know what, screw this. Whatever. "Why don't you just play and I'll try to watch," I suggested.

"No, you lost the bet so you have to play for half an hour with me." It was true. We had bet who could pick up their half of Legolas's room first and I did lose. Why clean the little brat's room, you ask? Well if I had won, he would have washed all the dishes in the sink and played with whatever I wanted for the next hour. "You're helping me up my stats."

"Oh, well I'm glad I get to help you with that." I rolled my eyes. "Hey, um, while I'm dead and you're finishing the game...I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" I was always astonished at this youngling's ability to focus on a conversation while beating up bad guys. 

"Your dad was talking to me about Bard a little bit...did you tell him about how Bard was here while he was gone? I just didn't tell him so I just wanted to know...where he got that info." I was trying to sound nonchalant.

"Bard? No, I didn't tell dad that he slept here." Perceptive, but not a snitch. 

"Okay, thanks." Then...that means that Bard...told Thranduil? What?

"When are you gonna start dating my dad?"

"Um, excuse you, I'm not dating your dad." I'm dating Bard.

"Well if you both like each other, isn't that how people start dating?"

"Yes, that is how people start dating...but I don't like your dad like that. Got it?"

"I got it. Yeah! I won! Now you have to choose another character and play again."

"Oh, screw this."

 

Bard's hand felt so perfect in mine. I was so happy just walking with him. The weather was freezing, but Bard kept me close by his side. He was so sweet. "I ask you to take me to one place that you love so much you could live there...and you take me to a grocery store?" And there he went. Ruining the moment. He just couldn't see the beauty beyond that large neon sign with a shopping cart next to it. Foolish man.

"You wanted me to choose a place like that so you could get to know me better, right?"

"Yes..."

"Basically everything I love is in a grocery store. It was here or McDonalds and there's not as much to look at in McDonalds."

"You considered taking me to MacDonalds?"

"Do you know me at all?" I was beginning to doubt that he did as we walked through the beautiful automatic doors and I breathed in the wonderful aroma of dirty people, day-old bread, and dying flowers. The things dreams were made of. Well my dreams at least. "Okay, so first we get a cart."

"I've been to a store before, Lora."

"Well some people get baskets and I just wanted to make sure you got a cart...my needs cannot be contained in a basket."

"Alright," he sighed, but I knew he wasn't mad. "What are we going to get?" And with those words, he opened up doors to so many different possibilities. I chose the possibility labeled 'junk food isle'. Hell yeah. 

 

Usually when you're walking through the grocery store and dumping all sorts of junk into your cart, you don't feel self-conscious cause either 1) everyone around you is doing the same or 2) you have a million justifications in your head about why you're doing what you're doing so screw everyone else. Well when you bring your new man to a store...I did feel a little self-conscious after picking out the fourth bag of chips. I mean, I was out at my apartment, but what did he think...about this. "You probably think I'm the most unhealthy person on the planet," I suddenly blurted out. Then he laughed. He actually laughed. 

"Do you think I have anything different at my apartment?" And that made everything so many times better. And that was the cutest reply ever, so I stuck another bag of chips into the cart for good measure. After the chips, a large back of assorted chocolate, three liters of soda, two of which were the red kind of Mountain Dew because hello, two bags of goldfish, three boxes of Cheez-its, and two boxes of cookies made it into the cart. Then I had to get a bunch of frozen meals for when I was lazy at home, which was most of the time. And frozen mozzarella sticks. Lots of frozen mozzarella sticks. Seriously, those give me life. Then, while in the check-out line, Bard suggested that we each pick out a few candy bars. And I wasn't going to say no to him, so...a handful of candy bars made it onto the conveyor belt. And then Bard paid for everything, cause he's wonderful like that. And I certainly wasn't going to reject his offer to pay, good grief. He was so good to me. Then we got to go back to his apartment and I got to see it for the first time. It was a nice apartment, not as nice as Thranduil's, but it was a nice open floor plan and it had a good size kitchen and living area. It had only one bedroom and there was this little window next to his bed that overlooked the roof of someone else's apartment and Bard told me that sometimes he climbed out there and looked at the stars. It was definitely like the apartments in those cute romantic movies and he was definitely as good as those guys in the movies. Before we dug into our food, I told him that we had to exercise first. So we had a push-up contest....he won that. Then we had a sit-up contest...he won that one too. Then I just lay on his back while he did push-ups, encouraging him by yelling phrases like, 'My baby cousin could do more!' or 'You'll never get as many muscles as Thor by doing that few!' Yeah, I'm helpful like that. Then, after he was sweating and I was just tired, we sat down on the couch, put on netflix, and dug into our food. Hey, we earned that food, so now we could eat with no shame. 

 

Thranduil's cutting skills still amazed me, even weeks later. I sat at the counter watching him make our dinner and was staring unashamedly at his hands. That's probably why he laughed a few moments later. "Am I boring you, Lora?"

"Quite the contrary, you're very entertaining."

"Thank you." He even did all his cutting with all his fashion rings on and was still completely on point. That was skill. "I actually wanted to ask you," he started and I got scared. I don't know why, but that question always gave me a little bit of fear. "I have my book release party coming up and I was wondering if you'd like to go."

"Oh," that wasn't something to be scared about. "That sounds like fun. Thanks." Oh...but what if... "Wait...you're asking me to go as just like...a normal attendee, right?" Not as your...date.

"Yes," he smiled over at me. "Just as a friend to be there for support."

"In that case, yes, I'd be happy to come." Sorry for being weird, but girls, don't ever be ashamed to ask if you're going as someone's date. It's important to know and now I did know. Just as a friend. Wait...was Bard going? I opened my mouth to ask, then decided against it. I would ask Bard later. That was safer. 


	12. The Author's Companion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope your day was awesome and filled with tons of hearts <3  
> I wanted to make sure you all got a chapter today, even though it is late...my apologies. Hopefully it's good enough to make up for that. Love you all!!  
> Lora's dress: http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/502982?cm_sp=we_recommend-_-502982-_-slot1

So came the last week of summer, and the big book release party was Saturday night, the day after the last day I could say I worked for a man with longer hair than I had. Seriously, who planned that so perfectly? "So do you ever go to the big release parties?" Legolas and I were painting his Death Star model. Well, I was painting and he was instructing me what to do since it had become very clear very fast that I was the neater painter. Thranduil was out meeting with some someone, leaving the apartment in the hands of a nine year-old and a girl who acted younger than a nine year-old. 

"No," Legolas shook his head. "Dad asked if I ever wanted to go and I said no. They sound boring." The girly side of me wanted to object. Who didn't want to walk into a large ballroom with an all-you-can-eat appetizer station and bar looking like a million bucks? Sure, no one wanted to put in the effort to look like a million bucks...but the end result always got you a few stares and you could eat and drink all night. Okay, so at least that's what happened in the movies. Let's be honest...I'd never been to a huge party before. The biggest party I'd ever attended was a dinner for honor students at college...and I went as someone's date, not as an honors student...just to be clear. Then I realized that I was talking to a nine year-old who got upset when he had to put on shoes to go outside...yeah, maybe it wasn't his thing. Maybe it wasn't my thing either. 

"I hope that I'll have fun," I said optimistically. 

"You're a grown-up, so you'll have fun being with other grown-ups." That's not how it always works kid. 

"I hope so...what do you think I should wear?"

"Something fancy."  
"Like floor-length fancy or cocktail dress fancy...?"

"Just fancy. And everyone always wears black I think." Hmm...interesting. Thanks for the feedback, Legolas.

I ventured to ask the archangel's twin what someone would wear to one of these events since I didn't want to get it wrong. Of course I had googled 'what to wear to a book release party', but that search isn't very helpful...at least, not helpful enough. I literally found a website that says anything from a short sundress to full-length ballgown could be appropriate. Thanks a lot. "Legolas said that people seem to wear black?"

"Well Legolas has never been to one." Thranduil gave me a small smile as he mixed some mystery, most-likely-delicious mixture for dinner. "But since it is going into fall, you'd want to stay away from pastels. I'm sure you know fall colors." Ha. Fall colors. Of course. Like brown?

"And...the length?"

"Most of the women there will be wearing floor-length designer gowns."  
"Wait, designer?" You mean the ones that cost thousands of dollars for no good reason? 

"Yes." He said it so simply, like, 'of course everyone there can spend tons of money on a dress they would only wear once'. Well...I wouldn't. Maybe I could dig out my prom dress. Ha! What was I thinking? There would be no way I still fit into that thing. And it was bright pink. "You actually reminded me," he stepped away from his bowl for a moment to grab a slip of paper off the counter and hold it out to me. "Here's your last check for the week." 

"Oh, thank you...whoa. This is way over what you owe me."

"It's just a bonus since it's your last week. Maybe you could get yourself a nice dress." And then he gave me the smallest hint of a smile and of course I had to smile back. Part of me thought that was really sweet and such a nice gesture. Another part of me was thinking of all the other things I could buy with that money instead...you know how many bags of chocolate chips I could get with that extra cash? Lora, focus! Dress. Now we had to go dress shopping. What a joy.

The way that I shop is to look through a million magazines first so I get psyched up about fashion and want to go and spend hundreds on a dress because I've gotten it into my head that that's how much normal clothes are supposed to cost. They're not by the way. Go get a shirt at Old Navy for four bucks. So here I was, sitting on Bard's couch, flipping through all the magazines that the library had from the last few months. "This one?" I asked, holding the magazine above my head, so Bard, who was in the kitchen, could see it. 

"No, too pink."  
"Oh, right, no pinks." I rolled my eyes at myself as I resumed my search. "So, you never answered my question about whether or not you were invited to this thing."

"Did you ask me about that?"  
"Yeah, last night."

"Honey, I remember a lot about last night, but not that." Yes, we get it, you remember the sex, but not any actual words that came out of my mouth. 

"Okay, then I'll ask again. Are you gonna go? Oh, and how's this dress?" I held up another one, this time it was maroon.

"Getting closer."

"Yes! Now, party. You going?" I twisted around so I could see him mixing up drinks at the counter. 

"I haven't been informed that I am."

"Informed? Don't you mean invited?"

"Thranduil doesn't usually invite me to things, he just informs me that I'm supposed to be there."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He thinks he's more important than I am. Now, here's your drink, fair lady." He placed a glass of some kind of pink alcohol in my hand. Woot, go you. "And let's keep looking for your dress." He picked up one of the magazines from the pile on the table and began to flip through it as he sat down next to me. More important than you? I wanted to question him deeper on that subject, but he had picked up a magazine, something he wouldn't usually do, and I could only guess that meant that he was done talking about it.

"Like...anything?"  
"Absolutely anything, little man."

"Anything? Like more than one thing?"

"From one place, but you can order anything you want."  
"And as much as I want?"  
"Yes. Now, where does your dad keep the take-out menus?"

"Dad throws those away. He says they're too unhealthy."

"Well he'll have to suck it up for today. It's my last day with you and we are having a feast for lunch. I'm kind of feeling like Chinese..."

"Pizza."

"Indian?"  
"Pizza."

"It's your day, so we'll go with your choice." I smiled. "Pizza it is. I just have to look it up on my phone...what kind do you want?"  
"Everything on it. Except olives....and peppers. I hate those."  
"Your father would be so ashamed," I pretended to be serious for a moment. "They're so healthy!"

"You said dad has to suck it up for today."

"Okay, so like...what kind of meat?"

"Every kind."

"Okay...I'll ask." And Dominos...good old Dominos...said that for an outrageous fee, they would put everything on there but peppers and olives. But, it was a special occasion, so that's what I ordered. And a bread bowl for me along with those Parmesan Bread Bites. Hell. Yeah. This lunch was going to be legendary. And it was. I wasn't one of those rude people who put, 'send your cutest delivery boy' in the instructions, but they sent him anyway, those delightful people. I gave him an extra tip for being cute, but refrained from telling him that's what it was for. Then Legolas and I sat down on the living room floor with our food and watched one of the Transformers movies while we ate. And it was delicious if you were wondering. Did I make you want Dominos because I talked about it so much? I thought so. Go order some. You deserve it.

We put the pizza boxes in my trash upstairs and washed our hands thoroughly. While we were in my apartment, I brought Legolas into my room to see my dress, which hung up on the outside of my closet with three bags over it to protect it. Hey, it had been really expensive. I carefully unwrapped it then stepped back so he could see it. It was kind of strange, but I really wanted his approval. "It's silver," were the first words out of his mouth, then he stepped forward and carefully ran his fingers over the black sequins that were threaded through it. Then he was smiling up at me. "You'll look really good in it, Lora."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes," he nodded. "You did a good job." And all I could do was smile. If the kid thought I had done an okay job...that was a step in the right direction. I had picked out the dress the previous day with Bard, who had been very helpful. We had decided on the floor-length silver gown with black sequins that seemed to form branches. It was an elvish-looking dress, and that seemed to fit the occasion.  
 

Thranduil made steak that night and wow was it good. When he asked what we had eaten for lunch, Legolas spat out that we had had grilled cheese the exact moment I started saying salad. "We had salad and grilled cheese..." That would actually be a really gross combination. 

"So it smells like pizza in here for no reason?"

"Yes..." As I said it, Thranduil was smiling and I knew that he didn't mind. And if he did, it was my last day and he'd already paid me, so it didn't matter. Then Legolas got a phone call from Tauriel, ending the questions about lunch, and leaving Thranduil and I to clear the table. I offered to help him wash the dishes, but he said he'd do that later, and offered me a glass of wine instead.

"So, how was your last day?"

"I wish it wasn't over," I said truthfully. "Legolas is a great kid and I'd love to babysit him anytime you need me."

"I think we'll be inviting you over often anyways. It will feel strange eating dinner without you."

"Thanks." Then we clinked our glasses and drank. "So, is everything all set for tomorrow evening."

"Yes, we are very excited. Did you find a dress?"  
"I did, thank you. I hope it's the right kind of thing. Bard helped me pick it out." The minute those words slipped out, I realized that I wasn't sure if he knew that we were... "Bard and I are dating...I'm not sure if you knew that."  
"I did," he said casually, taking another sip of his drink. "Bard told me." Was that the same time he told you that he had slept over at your place? What kind of conversations did you guys have? 

"Well...I better be going I guess."

"I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Yes you will!" I said that with a bit too much gung-ho, so then I had to awkwardly cough and slip out the door into the hallway with my dignity in shreds. I was such a weird person, honestly, I didn't know why people put up with me.

And then there I was, putting my hair up in a twisted bun, sliding diamond studs into my ears, doing up the clasp on my silver bracelet, and slipping into some very high silver pumps with black heels. As every girl does after getting all ready, I stood before my mirror for at least half an hour. I kept fixing parts of my makeup and finally realized that it would never be perfect and I had to get going. Bard had ordered me a taxi, so I wouldn't have to park anywhere, and given the driver the correct instructions. So all I had to do was walk down the stairs...very slowly so I wouldn't fall, and climb into the waiting yellow car, and off we went. My feet were already hurting, so I kicked off my shoes for the long ride and it took forever for me to get comfortable in my long, uncomfortable dress. Sure, I looked amazing, but I knew that at the end of the night, I'd be the most uncomfortable I'd ever been. And somehow I felt that was worth it. Even when I almost tripped getting out of the car, I still felt like it was worth it. I had been driven around to a side entrance, but there were still many people coming in this way. I simply told the man at the door my name, and I was let in. It was kind of like getting into a club only I was wearing more fabric than I would at a club and I didn't think there would be as many drunk people dancing. There wasn't. I walked into an incredibly white room with a huge glass ceiling, where I could see the sun just beginning to set. There were round white tables scattered throughout the room, most loaded down with different kinds of food. I immediately dug into the chocolate-covered strawberries. The bar was at one end of the room and once I got my champagne, I decided to camp out mostly near the chocolate fountain. I should have worn darker lipstick with the amount of chocolate I was consuming. There were many people in the large room, but none seemed eager to address me, which was perfectly fine since I had no clue what to say. Was I supposed to tell them that I was Thranduil's child-care worker and that's how I knew him? That sounded weird even in my head. Thranduil wasn't in the room right now and as I guessed, there was a large to-do when did he walk in. I was close enough to hear everybody congratulating him and I was close enough to hear his voice above all the others, greeting people and thanking them all for coming. When the crowd around him thinned out enough, I was also close enough to see his companion. It was Bard. I was close enough to see Thranduil's fingers pressing gently against Bard's waist as he shook hands with people. But I wasn't close enough for them to hear me gasp, or my heart break into a million pieces. Is that too dramatic? Well you try falling for someone then seeing them show up on the arm of someone they refused to talk to you about.


	13. The Matching Outfits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to finish! I was as inspired as a rock up until this afternoon. I hope you all like it :)  
> Thank you all again for such wonderful comments <3\. They mean more than you guys could ever know.

I stared for a few minutes. Who wouldn't? Thranduil was the most beautiful creature in the room and his arm candy was a stunning companion. Thranduil made sure he was always touching Bard, usually with his hand on his back or waist. But Bard was there...and he couldn't deny that. And I couldn't take that. I turned and began weaving my way through the people, my mind numbed by the situation so I was unable to think. I kept walking, moving past group after group of people, dressed in their elaborate outfits. I just kept walking...then realized I had no clue where the door was. Great. The exact moment I need it, it disappears. The front door was one way, but that wasn't how I came in and to get to it, I'd have to walk past the blond terror and his companion. I eventually just found myself in a corner and leaned back against the wall to get my bearings. My head now seemed to be ringing and the hurt had just started to set in. "Lora!" No. Just no.

"I don't want to talk to you." I held out my hand to stop Bard from coming any closer. 

"I tried calling you. You didn't answer."

"You..." Did you?  
I yanked my clutch open and realized that my phone was not inside. You know that thing when that little number in the corner of your phone gets below 10% and you need to plug it into the wall? Yeah...I left my phone charging at home. "I left it at home..." I sighed. "What's going on, Bard?" I looked up at him and his eyes were looking earnestly into mine. He looked amazing, his hair neatly combed and falling down to his shoulders. He was dressed in a tux with that adorable bow tie...but I couldn't let that affect me tonight.

"He called me and told me that I was coming with him tonight...I tried to let you know ahead of time...he uses me for publicity...I couldn't say no." His words were so dis-jointed, like when you have a perfectly rehearsed speech, but it just falls apart the exact moment you need to give it.

"No, I think you could." It goes kind of like this, I'm seeing someone so I'm not going to a party with you. How hard was that?

"It's just so there's enough buzz about his new book to get it going. He needs that right now." He was speaking quickly, like he was scared he would lose me if he slowed down. He might. "He's a good friend of mine, Lora, and I wasn't gonna leave him hanging."

"But why wouldn't he ask you sooner and give you time to plan?" Or give me time to plan.

"I...I think he's trying to...I don't know, show possession or something." He sounded like he thought the idea was stupid. It was. It was also possible.

"Possession? Oh, you mean like to me?" Okay, now I was getting mad. "He's trying to make it seem like you belong to him and I need to get my hands off?"

"Something like that."

"Well fuck. him." I was about to march off and tell him the same, but Bard caught me. Thank goodness.

"Listen, I know he's...who he is...but don't let him stop you from having a great time. You're here and...you look beautiful." That made me smile. "Have a good time." He was trying to be reassuring.

"How am I supposed to have a good time when you're on the arm of someone else?" Duh, Bard. Think this through.

"It won't be like that. I'm gonna be stuck to you like glue." He took my hand and put it through his arm. "He got me for the red carpet, you get me the rest of the night."  
"Wait, there was a red carpet?"

 

Let's review. My amazing man, Bard, was called up just a little while before the party by a son of a bitch called Thranduil. Thranduil, trying to show me that Bard was completely under his control, ordered Bard to be ready for tonight then walked the red carpet with him to drum up gossip, therefore making people interested in him and his book. Choose to be mad at who you will. I choose Thranduil.

 

True to his word, Bard was stuck to me for the remainder of the evening. Quite a few people at this event knew him and old ladies kept coming up and giving him hugs. He would kiss their cheek, then turn, look at me, and simply introduce me as, 'my Lora'. And that was kind of really cute. One old woman asked, "Oh, is this your dear sister?" Not unless he's seriously into incest.

"No, we're dating," he informed her. She then gave him a strange look and walked off. I guessed that had something to do with the Thranduil thing. There was also an abundance of gay men at this event. What was it about book release parties that brought out the old people and the gays? Shrug. Yes, I just said 'shrug' and didn't say 'I shrugged', live with it - it's an expression...or it should be. Then we "bumped" into Thranduil. Notice the quotes.

"So good to see you, Lora." Then he gave me an awkward one-armed hug since we were both holding champagne. The moment we pulled away, Bard put his arm around me protectively. That was nice.

"Congratulations on the book." That was a normal thing to say, right? I think it was.

"Thank you." He gave me a smile and I couldn't tell if it was fake or not. I didn't look fake, but he was a good actor. "And you look beautiful."

"Oh, thanks." I gave him a nice smile back...then I realized that we matched. You've got to be kidding me. He was literally wearing a silver suit with a black tie and I had on...my silver dress. Oh holy hell.

"I hope you've been meeting a lot of people."  
"Just a lot of old people." I honestly did not mean to have that come out of my mouth and the moment it did, Thranduil and Bard looked at each other, then laughed. Those kinds of laughs where you try really hard to hold it in, but it explodes out anyways. Yeah...laugh it up, boys. Aren't we supposed to be mad at Thranduil? Let's go back to that.

"Well I will see you guys later, I'm sure." Then he touched Bard's arm very gently, then walked off. I wanted to say a million things to Bard the moment that the jolly blond giant was out of ear-shot, mostly composed of Iseriouslydidn'tmeantosaythatandwhydidhetouchyourarmIdon'tlikethat...so instead, I just said,

"That was weird." And I think that pretty much covered it.

 

The evening was a nice evening, despite it's rocky beginning. There was a group of musicians who played Celtic music throughout the evening, and they sounded amazing. They had a glass for tips on top of the piano, so I eventually dragged Bard over and demanded that he give me a fifty dollar bill. "Why?" He whispered. "They weren't that good."

"Come on, hand it over." I held out my hand and he finally gave in and placed the bill in my palm. Booyah. The moment that the next song was over, I leaned over and whispered to the piano player. "I'll give you this fifty if you play We Will Rock You. Just once." He was a young guy who seemed very excited at the idea, so he mentioned it to the other people in the group and they all agreed to it aside from the cello player who insisted it was wrong to play anything that hadn't been pre-approved. I think she really just didn't know it off the top of her head. They didn't need her anyway. You can't imagine how awesome it is to hear the greatest Queen song ever played by a piano, piccolo, viola, violin, guitar, and harp. It was amazing. And they got a very rousing round of applause afterward, along with their fifty bucks, so they couldn't complain. Bard looked highly amused as well, which made it a little more worth it.

 

And afterward we went and got ice cream. Now I know that it's a bad idea to eat ice cream in a formal dress...so we put down about a million napkins on our laps and sat in the back of our taxi while we ate. We even got ice cream for the taxi driver cause he seemed nice and he didn't charge us for the time we took to eat it. See? Be nice to people and good things happen. Yes, I pulled a life lesson out of thin air. I'm talented that way. After our ice cream, we settled in for the long ride home, which was nice, because that meant that Bard sat on one side of the cab and I got to lay against him and pull my feet up on the seat next to me. Both his arms were around me and by the end of the ride, we were both about to fall asleep. Bard had ordered the cab to his apartment so we both sleepily walked up the stairs and went right into his bedroom. He helped me out of my dress, then I pulled on one of his t-shirts and climbed under the sheets. It wasn't long before he joined me, then we cuddled up and fell asleep. A perfect ending to a night that turned out to be not so bad. Want another life lesson? Stop worrying. Things turn out better than you think.

 

"Is he gonna do it again?" We were making breakfast and I asked the question suddenly.

"Are you talking about Thranduil?" He passed me the milk and I added it to the pancake mixture I was stirring.

"Yes...is he gonna just call you up again?"

"I don't know." He was speaking nonchalantly.

"Do you talk to him a lot?"

"You jealous?" He asked playfully as he gave me a cute smile.

"I'm serious." I stopped stirring and turned around, leaning against the counter. "Is he going to make a habit of showing how he owns you?"

"Lora, he's a friend."

"Yes, a friend...I don't like how he, as you said, thinks he's better than you."

"I shouldn't have said that..."

"So, what is it?" I was getting louder, but not angry. I just wanted to understand. Just once, I wanted to understand.

"His wife died, Lora!" He yelled it. Then he sighed and leaned back against the counter across from me, obviously frustrated. "I'm sorry, I didn't man to yell." He sighed again and I realized I had wrapped my arms around myself protectively. I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to have to protect myself. "I met him right after his wife died...I feel like I'm letting him down if I don't do what he wants...I have to."

"I don't think that means you can't say no." I said the words softly, because I finally understood that I just couldn't understand their relationship. Maybe they had something, maybe it was something special that I just couldn't get. And that was okay.


	14. The Awkward Situations (and there are a lot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Yesterday I just had a really bad day and I couldn't write anything that would have been my best, so I apologize that there wasn't a new chapter up. And a heads up for tomorrow, I will be out a big part of my day, so I may not have another chapter up then. Someone very special is visiting town ;) and we are going to the movies, then the mall, so, you know, that's gonna happen. I may get some inspiration while I'm out, though, so, who knows!  
> I want to keep thanking you guys for your comments. You guys are all so awesome and so sweet to me, thank you so much. Love you all!!

 

And then the boredom set in. I didn't have a job, so I sat on the couch for long hours with my computer and a few women who called themselves 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta'. Were they really, though? I'm calling bullshit. I would apply for new jobs daily, but as of right now, nothing was getting back to me. Thankfully, Thorin had been super nervous about rent, so I was paid up through December. But only December. If I didn't have a job by then, things would get bad. I hated to say it, but if I didn't get a job, I had to count on my strong relationship with Bard, and that was never good. Then there was the random letter from my landlord asking if there had been a change of occupancy in the apartment... there had been. Thorin had gotten this apartment as a sort of gift to me when I graduated from college, then we both paid rent, even though he still had his own apartment. Enclosed in the letter was a small piece of paper asking who the occupants were, then asked for the signatures of the people on the lease. Both people.

 

"No, you don't have to wait. I'll come over tomorrow." I had my phone propped under my ear as I locked my apartment, the letter from my landlord tucked into my purse.

"You sure you don't want me to come with you or anything?"

"No, I'm good. I shouldn't be too long. You go to work and I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, I'll be thinking of you. Bye."  
"Bye." And I hung up with a smile on my face, as I usually did. Then the smile faded because of the realization of what I had to do. I had to go see Thorin, who I hadn't even said a real goodbye to before...major awkward factor here, people. Annnndddd I had to go to his apartment to do this, since that's the only place I could be sure to find him. Nice. I had texted him to let him know that I was coming over and why and he texted back, 'fine'. So there was that...but that didn't mean that either of us were ready to see each other. I certainly wasn't.

 

Climbing the all-too-familiar stairs to his apartment was beyond nerve-wracking. I stood outside his door for a few minutes, listening to the loud music that seemed to be coming from all around me, but I knew was sourced beyond his door. Obviously he wasn't home alone, unless he had recently gotten into heavy metal music. I finally got up enough courage to raise my hand and knock on the door. I didn't think I had been loud enough, but the door did open. There stood Kili, one of Thorin's room-mates. "Oh, it's you." He leaned against the door casually. "How've you been?"

"Just fine...is Thorin here?"  
"Yup. Thorin!" He screamed the name into the apartment, then stepped back to let me in. Imagine the most bachelor-pad-looking man-cave you can...then multiply that by six. That was where these guys lived.

"Fili, turn down the music!" Kili yelled, running past me and down the hall to his brother's room. As soon as he disappeared, Thorin stepped into the room from the kitchen. And as soon as I looked at him, the loud music was suddenly turned down dramatically, as if that had all been planned. Sometimes, I literally thought I was in a movie. Maybe I was...who knew for sure? But there will be time for philosophy later, right now I needed to just get this done.

"Um, I have this..." I fumbled with my purse, then awkwardly held out the letter towards him. He stepped farther into the room and took it from me before silently looking it over.  
"Okay." He disappeared back into the kitchen, only to reappear a moment later with a pen, then he sat down on the couch and scribbled his name on one of the lines. He then stood up and handed it back to me, and that was that. I turned to go, then stopped myself. I couldn't just walk out like a total stranger.  
"How are you?" I knew that the words came out strangely, but I did want to know.

"I'm just fine." He spoke in an incredibly straight tone. "I hope you're taking care of yourself."

"I am," I nodded. "I'm good."

"Good." And there was nothing more to say. We had gone through the pleasantries, so...I turned to go, but the moment I pulled the door open, I heard Thorin's voice again. "I hope he's treating you really well, Lora...and making you really happy, cause you deserve that." I looked back at him and his face hadn't changed, he was still looking at me with that steady gaze that held no emotion.

"I'm really sorry that I ever hurt you." Then I slipped out and closed the door behind me. I held every feeling off until I had climbed into my car, then it all hit me, a huge wave of emotion. The visit had been so short, but it had cut into me because it reminded me of what I had done to him. I could try to make a million excuses for it and probably make a million people think that it had been the right choice, but I had really hurt someone...someone who hadn't deserved to be hurt. And that was painful to know. It really was.

 

I had just unlocked my door and stepped into my apartment, when I heard a strange sound...coming from the kitchen. I shut the door behind me and walked into the kitchen, immediately stepping into a puddle of water. "What the...oh my gosh!" Water was practically gushing out from under the sink. The next moment, I was down on my knees, trying desperately to see the hole everything was coming from. I had just yanked open the cabinet doors under the sink when there was a knock at my door. So I got up, soaking wet, and ran to the door, pulling it open a little too quickly. There stood a tall, blonde angel-in-disguise whose clothes held about as much water as mine did.

"Yours too?" He asked quickly. I nodded and let him in, wasting no time in getting back to the leak. "Towels," he ordered, and I immediately felt like an idiot for not getting those first. I ran to my closet and pulled out a whole arm-load before returning to the blonde prince who was kneeling in water and doing something with the pipes. "I think a pipe burst above us and the water is just getting out any way it can. Or we may have multiple bursts." I'm glad you have a slight understand of what's going on, cause I haven't the slightest clue. Pipes are supposed to carry water and stay out of sight. That is the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

"Well can we call someone?"

"I called the landlord and he said he'll get on it..."  
"Can't we shut off the water?"

"These apartments aren't individually metered, there's only one valve and I think it's in the sidewalk."

"Oh gosh..." At this point, we had shoved in enough towels to stop the leaking and were now sitting on the wet floor. I looked over at Thranduil and wanted to laugh. He was wearing dark jeans and a light pink dress shirt, both of which were soaked. Part of his hair was pulled up in a messy bun, but the rest of it hung down in dripping strands. He was such a mess...but at the same time, he looked kind of perfect. Then I happened to remember something...just a small image, but enough to tear apart the beautiful picture of him on my kitchen floor. His hand on Bard's back. I also thought of something else. Something that had been stirring in my mind the whole ride back from Thorin's house. Thorin had said that he hoped I was being treated well...and being made very happy. And when I thought of Bard...If I said to myself, 'Bard is making me ____' the word that would fill the blank would be 'confused', not 'happy'. I liked Bard...I liked Bard so much...but Bard felt a greater sense of commitment toward the man on the floor beside me more than he felt towards me. And I couldn't just keep letting that go.

"Well..." Thranduil brushed some of the wet strands of hair out of his forehead. "I guess we just wait now." He pulled himself to his feet, then offered me a hand and helped me up. I walked him to the door and when we reached it, I couldn't really contain myself anymore.

"I'm not gonna stand in your way anymore...you can have him if you want him." I leaned against the door as Thranduil turned around and gave me the strangest look.

"You think I want him?" And I'm pretty sure that the world stopped in that one moment. Like literally. It only started moving again when the next words came out of his mouth. "Legolas wanted me to ask you over for dinner tonight...if the water isn't fixed, then we'll order something. See you around six, Lora." Then he was walking back down the stairs to his apartment and I was staring after him. Literally staring. What the hell just happened? I think I just told him that I was going to break up with Bard so he could be with him...and I think he just said that he was interested in someone else.

 

When you're scared, just put on red lipstick. Honestly, it gives you a feeling in-between 'I'm gonna kill a man' and 'I just killed a man and it felt great' with a little sex mixed in there somewhere. You may not get that, guys, but girls, you know what I mean. I was terrified about the conversation I had to have with Bard, so I put on red lipstick. To be honest, it would be less of a conversation and more of a short break-up. I had basically given him the choice between me and Thranduil before, but never done anything when he chose Thranduil...every time. And I refused to be put second in a relationship, and second to a friendship of all things. I just needed him to put me first, just once, and he never did. So here I was, staring in my mirror, giving myself a pep talk. Don't you dare say that you've never done that before. We all have. If you haven't, then you're probably not human - you're an alien. As I was standing before my mirror, I heard my door open and my mind instantly flashed from 'Oh, that's probably someone just walking in' and 'AHH A MURDERER', but then I heard Bard's voice and everything was fine...besides the fact that I was supposed to meet him at his place..."Hey!" I called back, walking out into the living room where he was putting down his stuff. "Why are you here?"

"I decided it would be easier to just com here from work." A text would have been appreciated. "You look nice." He stepped towards me and I just went in for a big hug instead of a kiss. This was incredibly awkward. "How was your day? Did you see Thorin?"

"Um, yeah. That was fine. Short."  
"Good. No problems?"

"Nope...but something's wrong with our water. When I came home, it was leaking all over the floor from under the sink and then some plumber came and shut off our water til they fix it, so...no water right now." I needed to stop rambling about water problems and say what I needed to stay.

"Oh, well you can come stay with me." Actually... "But," But? "I need to say something to you." Before I say something to you? Bard took both my hands in his, which was unusual, then took a deep breath before he began talking. "I thought about us a lot today and...I choose you." I think my eyes kind of shot open in surprise at that.

"What?"

"I'm not going to let my life be run by someone else. I want to be with you, so I choose you over him...every time." Oh gosh. I was still very surprised and frightened for a moment...then all of it seemed to melt away a little bit. He chose me. Like...really chose me. So if there was no more trouble with Thranduil... then there was no reason for me to break up with him. He chose me. "Say something." Oh, I'm sorry, I'm processing over here. Would you prefer me to break up with you?

"Thank you." And I smiled, then he kissed me. And that's all we needed right then. Then, as we hugged again, I got this horrible sinking feeling...because I had just told Thranduil a few hours earlier...that I was going to break up with Bard...and he had invited me over for dinner tonight. Wow. How did I get myself into this awkward of a situation? By opening my big mouth, that's how.

 

I sat down on my bed with something like a sigh, only it was a 'oh-gosh-what-do-I-do' sigh. Cause what was I supposed to do? I wanted to go to dinner at the Sylvan's cause I hadn't seen Legolas in a while and...I did kind of miss Thranduil...even though he'd been acting like a bit of a jerk. But how was I supposed to go to dinner there after I'd said that I had broken up with Bard...and after Bard had chosen me over Thranduil...like what would I say? Sure, Bard shouldn't come up in normal conversation...but still. I'd probably bring him up out of fear of bringing him up. Cause I'm awkward like that. Then, as I sat here thinking out my life choices, I noticed the flash drive that I had tossed onto my night stand...quite a while ago now. It was everything Thranduil had written about me. I reached out and picked it up, holding it for a minute in my palm. I hadn't ever read it...maybe I... "Hey Lora, what are you thinking for dinner?" Bard's voice called from the kitchen.

"Um..." I quickly slid the flash drive into my pocket. It wasn't as if Bard didn't already know that I had it...just that it had a connection to Thranduil...and I wasn't sure if now was the right time to bring him up. "I don't know," I called back. "What were you thinking?"


	15. The Host

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter took a different turn than I expected...but hey! It works! I hope you all like it :). Ugh sometimes I just want to tell all of you what wonderful or not-so-wonderful (depending on perspective) things are coming! You have no clue what something in this chapter means, you poor dears! Is that gonna drive you crazy now? I'm sorry. Sometimes I just want to tell you everything at once, but I can't! Game-changing things are coming, though! I'll tell you that much ;). Maybe I'll title the next chapter...The Flash Drive...we'll see...I just have an idea for what I want to do with that and it's a bit bold...should I go with that, guys?  
> Wow, I'm giving away a lot today...

5:45. I couldn't put off the conversation any longer. Bard had warmed up a frozen dinner for himself and was now sitting on my couch watching some show about auctioning off storage containers. "I kind of need to tell you something." 

"What's up?" He glanced towards me, but I knew I didn't have his full attention. I wasn't sure if that was good or not...well, it was probably best to just get it all out there. 

"Um, so...Legolas invited me to dinner tonight." That was true. And it got his attention. "And so I think I'm gonna go and see...them." He raised his eyebrows at me.  
"I thought you hated Thranduil."  
"Hate is a strong word...and I want to see Legolas."

"Okay...come to my apartment after, and don't be too late." And he gave me a small smile. I could tell it wasn't his favorite idea, but he didn't fight with me. Good for you, Bard. Points for you. I then shot off towards my room to fix my hair and make-up. Just cause I didn't need to make a good impression didn't mean I wanted to make a bad one.

 

I think I felt a little terrified as I stood in front of the Sylvan's door...okay, I was a lot terrified. Why was I so scared to see Thranduil again? Oh, maybe it was the whole thing about him possibly liking me...after acting like he was into Bard in front of me. Yeah, that was it. But still, I knocked. Legolas opened the door and let me into the beautiful apartment that I used to call 'work'. It felt like of weird coming back...but at the same time, I felt at home. I gave Legolas a quick hug, then he ran off, telling me he wanted to show me something. I stepped into the kitchen and found Thranduil busily cooking. He was wearing a maroon-colored dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dress pants. His hair had been straightened and he had portioned it perfectly, so just enough fell in front of his shoulders and the rest fell down his back. Nobody could ever accuse Thranduil of being ugly. Not once. He was stirring something in a pan, then he peaked into the oven, before turning and seeing me. "Lora," he smiled. "So nice to see you." He was still smiling. Then he came around and gave me a sort of one-armed hug. Um. Okay. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I nodded. "How are you?"

"Good, good." He pulled out two glasses and poured us each some wine. "You heard that the water will take a few days, I'm guessing. They just patched up what they could now before they go in and fix everything."

"Yeah. Are you going to stay around here while it's fixed?"

"No, I'm actually gonna head out tonight. I own a cabin up North, so Legolas and I will go stay there for a week or so. How about you?"

"Um...I haven't decided yet." I didn't want to bring Bard into the conversation if I was being perfectly honest. 

"I'm actually cooking with water from water bottles right now...at least we could keep our gas and electricity on, though I'm guessing they're gonna turn off the electricity tomorrow while they fix everything."

"Yeah..." We were about to go into an awkward silence, but Legolas chose that moment to re-appear. Good to see that the good-timing skills of the father were passed on to the son. 

"Look!" And Legolas held up the now-completed model of the Death Star. Everything had dried and the last details had been added. It looked really nice, I had to admit.

"That's awesome!" 

"Dad helped me with the last parts." At this declaration, my eyes drifted up to Thranduil for a moment, who just smiled before returning to the food in front of him. 

"Well you both did a great job." Legolas gently pushed the model onto the counter. "How's school?"

"It's good. Dad said that I can eat dinner with you guys, then I have to finish my homework."

"Good for you." I smiled, then Thranduil interrupted our conversation by putting a stack of plates on the counter in front of us. 

"Legolas, would you set the table?"

"Yes..." Legolas knew better than to argue with his father, but his little sigh after showed his frustration. 

"I'll do the forks and napkins," I volunteered, and that cheered him up right away. Of course, that meant standing next to Thranduil cause that's where the drawer of silverware was. "Knives too?" I asked. 

"Yes, knives too." He pulled open the oven again and crouched down to check on whatever deliciousness was inside. It turned out to be individual chicken cordon bleus...like, that's kind of a fancy meal. I'm not that special, Thranduil. And when we eventually sat down at the table, I saw that he had made homemade rolls and sauteed vegetables in some mix of amazing spices. It was quite the meal. He refilled our wine glasses as we sat down and the moment I put a piece of the wonderful dinner into my mouth, I think my vision blurred and I went deaf for just a moment. It was that good. Trust me, it was. The man in front of me had many skills. Being straightforward was not one of them, but other than that...he could pretty much do anything.

 

Then...you know...Legolas had to go do his homework...and that left me alone with Thranduil...and that made it a little awkward...but I think it was more awkward how not awkward it was. We cleared the table, then I offered to dry if he washed. And we talked. We talked about what jobs I had applied to and what I really wanted to do with my life. Then I asked how his book sales were going...and I couldn't control myself after that. And I said something I shouldn't have. "I'm really glad that Bard could help you get those."  
"What do you mean?" His response was quick, but he did sound a little confused. 

"Oh...um...just how you asked Bard to come to the party so short notice so you'd be...seen together and could sell more books...isn't that what happened?" Oh gosh this was awkward. Come on, Lora, why did you say something?

"Is that what Bard said?" Thranduil had now stopped washing dishes and turned to look at me while I was continually drying a plate that was obviously already dry. 

"Um...that's what we guessed..." And just like that, Thranduil turned back to washing the dishes. He didn't say anything. "Was he...were we wrong?"

"Bard is a really old...friend of mine and my publishing team decided last minute that I shouldn't attend the party alone. I'm not gonna deny that being seen with Bard gets me more attention, but I didn't know he felt like he was being used." 

"Oh." Oh my gosh, what did I start? In the awkward silence that followed...I couldn't stay silent. "I don't know, maybe I heard him wrong," I said softly. 

"I'm not in love with him, Lora." He looked over at me suddenly. "I felt like you may have had that impression from what you said earlier...I didn't think that you didn't know...that it was you instead." Holy...shit. You know how I said that I went blind and deaf when I tasted his food before? Well this was a million times worse. Maybe being straightforward was one of his skills. My brain just couldn't comprehend it. And we just stared at each other...And, um...then Legolas came in and interrupted us...and I have no clue what my face looked like, but I think it was a complete look of shock...maybe I went completely white...Legolas just asked if everything was alright and I couldn't answer. Thranduil did instead. 

"Yes." He turned and smiled at his son. 

"I think I have to go." My words came out rushed, awkward, strange, lumpy, and any other word you wanna throw out there. Nothing about them sounded normal. 

"No, you have to play with me! I've hardly seen you!" I turned to look at the sad nine-year old and decided that if Thranduil wasn't in the same room, I might be able to make it through. I just had to not think about " _It was you instead_ " yeah, that. 

"Okay..." I cleared my throat as I tried to retrieve my normal voice. "One game. I'll play whatever character you want on that smash game."  
"Yeah!" And off he ran into the living room. I put down the towel I was holding and followed Legolas to where he was now sitting on the floor, getting the game set up. I sat down next to him and for the rest of the game tried very hard to just focus on the adorable blonde boy next to me and the horrific Kirby character that he was making me play, but in the back of my mind all I could think of was the man I had left standing in the kitchen and what he had said to me.

 

"Come back and see us?"

"Maybe sometime." I smiled and gave Legolas a goodbye hug. "It was really nice to see you."

"Maybe I'll come visit you."

"Please, do." My eyes glanced towards the tall figure standing just a few steps behind his son, then I turned to go, stepping out into the hall. Somehow I wasn't surprised when he followed me, closing the door after us.  
"I am so sorry. That was out of line and I didn't mean to say it."

"I don't want to talk about it."  
"Neither do I, I just wanted to apologize. I know you're very happy and I didn't mean to say anything."

 

"Okay." I gave him a slight nod, my eyes never once going to his face. "Thank you for tonight. The food was delicious." Then I was walking out to my car to meet Bard at his apartment. I let myself in and dropped my stuff by the door. Bard wasn't in the living room where I expected to find him sleeping or indulging in junk food, and he wasn't in the bedroom, but as I stood in the doorway, I heard the shower running. That's where he was. Then I felt my heartbeat steadily pick up and suddenly I was breathing hard. I was seized by a sudden desire and completely gave in. I pulled off my shoes and tossed them to the side as I walked towards the bathroom. Then off came my shirt, then my pants, and in another moment I was completely undressed and stepping into the shower with the wonderful man that I had been seeing for weeks now. I didn't even give him a chance to say anything before I kissed him as hard as I could. I pressed my body up against his and his hands were gripping my sides. He pushed me against the cold tile wall until there was nowhere that we weren't touching. I was happy. I was. I had this and I didn't need anything else.


	16. The Flash Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This actually got super emotional...wow. Let me know what ya'll think :). Also, is there any other characters from The Hobbit or LOTR that you guys are really interested in seeing? Just so I know :)

"What time will you be home?" I was sitting on the counter, wearing one of Bard's shirts and sipping my coffee. Bard was pouring his own mug of caffeine, all dressed and ready for work. 

"Around 4:00. I shouldn't be much later than that."

"Do you want me to make you dinner?"

"We can go out tonight." He sent me a small smile. "So you get all dressed up and I'll come home and shower, then we'll head out."

"Okay." He gave me a quick kiss then headed for the door. "Have a good day!" I called after him.  
"You too, babe." Then the door closed behind him and I was alone again. I sat there on the counter, swinging my feet, until I finished my coffee, then I washed my mug and put it away. I decided that I probably should put on some decent clothes so I pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then spent quite a long time figuring out how to do a neat French braid in my own hair. It's harder than you would think. I brushed on a little of make-up, though I was only wearing it cause it would take up time to put on. Then, as I stood up, I felt something in my pocket. I slid my hand in and pulled out a small rectangular object. The flash drive. Hmm...yeah...I want to see what's on this. Especially after last night. I pulled out my computer and flopped down on Bard's bed, then was about to plug in the drive when my phone went off...and it was my mom. I didn't get many calls from my mom, so of course I had to answer. Then I had to spend the next hour hearing about everything my cousins, my sister Ariel, and everyone from home was doing. Then I had to answer all the questions about what I was doing and how Thorin was...and the moment I mentioned that he was no longer in the picture, I was asked about who I was seeing instead. Mooooooom. We've all felt that way. Gotta love 'em. So I finally got off the phone with her and was hungry by that time, so I made myself a grilled cheese and returned to the flash drive. I plugged it in and pulled up the list of what was on it. There was a whole list of names which I could only guess were chapter titles. Names like, Oropher, Legolas, Divorce...Bard...Lora. It was then that I realized that these weren't just chapters of some story...they were chapters of his life. I felt like I was about to take a deep look into his soul or something. I felt like I was an unwelcome visitor...but he had given this to me. He knew I would read it one day. He had to. My cursor moved across the page and lingered over the name of the man whose apartment I was in...but I felt like I couldn't start from anywhere from the beginning, so I clicked on the first title, Oropher, but before my eyes could read any of the words, I heard a crash in the kitchen. I jumped up and ran out to see that one of the wine glasses had fallen off the rack and now lay in pieces on the floor.  
"Shit." I now had to find a dust-pan and broom. That took a good ten minutes of searching until I found the pair under the couch. Seriously, who keeps brooms under the couch? Someone who doesn't sweep their apartment is who. I swept up all the pieces into the dust-pan and emptied it into the garbage. I'm pretty sure I had a perfect 'I'm unamused' look on my face at that point in time. You shoulda seen it. So went back to my computer on Bard's bed only to find that it had died and now I needed to find my charger. Nice. Just nice. Were like all the forces of nature trying to get me to not read this story? Well...I would prevail! I was determined! I plugged in my computer, waited for it to re-boot, then clicked on the first chapter again. I don't know what I expected to find, but what I found was unexpected.

 

The chapter titled, _Oropher_ , was about his childhood. It didn't surprise me that he was an only child. It also didn't surprise me that he was very close to his mother and had learned a lot of his cooking techniques from her. The whole chapter can be summed up in the line, ' _I didn't have an extraordinary childhood, but the one I did have effected every part of who I am, turning me into something that I like to see as extraordinary_.' _Legolas_ outlined his son's birth and his love for him, giving us the line, ' _Every day I live for my child._ ' And while I knew that Thranduil loved his son, the chapter enforced that in every way. It was really beautiful. I was very surprised to find that there was no mention of his wife, so far...then I reached the chapter titled, _Divorce._ If you're remembering Bard's story about Thranduil's wife's death, then you may be confused. So was I. This part, perhaps my favorite part that I read, explains it, ' _My wife died young. I was young. Our son was young. The pain at her passing was more than anything I could have imagined it would be like. People would give me their condolences, some their prayers, but nothing helped. Nothing came remotely near helping. I sat in a church and stared at the flag-covered coffin of my wife, then I stood outside and watched that coffin be lowered into the ground as my son clung to me, sobbing. People called it death, but all I felt was a divorce. As if the church was a courtroom. I felt as if she had gone off and left me and my son by ourselves. It was her choice to fight. It was her choice to go. And we were alone. I never called myself a widower, and I never will. And as my son grows up, he grows up the victim of a broken home. Nothing else.'_ I'd never felt so brokenhearted for another individual in my life. I felt his pain. If you're ever feeling like your life is unfair and painful, read about someone who's lost their partner in life. Nothing will shut you up quicker. But the next chapter was named, _Bard._ The first line was exactly what I expected it to be. ' _He was a dark-looking man who stood between 5'9 and 6'0. He never seemed to shave as much as he should and his hair never looked combed, but he awoke something in me that I thought had been put to sleep forever. Bard taught me to love again.'_ I knew that Bard had been such a huge part of his life and every word of this chapter proved it. I read as a broken and destroyed Thranduil got put together by the rough hands of the man who had held me last night. First, it was just a few smiles between them, then something more happened, then I read something that I didn't expect. Something that would change everything. ' _We were both drunk and sitting on the living room floor. His lips found mine for the first time and it wasn't something that surprised me. It just happened, and I'd been waiting for that moment for a while. Then as we lay there, his hand tangled in my hair, he spoke, his words slurred by the alcohol on his breath. "Why don't you marry me, Thranduil? Just marry me." And I smiled and shook my head. I didn't think he was serious in that moment, but when, months later, he asked me again, I knew that he had been. But I couldn't marry him. I couldn't ever make him happy, and he could never make me happy. And then she walked in...'_ I quickly scrolled down to the next chapter and every word I read effected me, but I didn't know just how. ' _Lora was a young girl, far too young, and I don't even know why I hired her, but I did. Lora and her messy bun and coffee mug permanently glued to her hand. I'm sitting here at the table just watching her play with my son._ _Today, Lora wore a pink blouse and dark jeans. She wore light makeup, which allowed you to better see her pretty eyes. She wore large earrings, which made her hair fall in such a way. A beautiful way. I wondered what I had done to deserve her._ " And he outlined every day just like that. Every day for maybe a week. Then came these lines, " _She's in love with him, and he's so much better for her than I am. I want her to be happy, and her happiness doesn't mean me.'_ And that was it. That was the last line written. It seemed like he had meant to write more, but I had found out before he could. It wasn't like I didn't know that he liked me...it was just that...I didn't know it was like this. And this was...heavy. And there was something else. Somehow, my mind kept wandering back to the chapter before mine, the one about Bard. And I felt hurt, really hurt. I didn't know how much Bard was keeping from me when he refused to talk about Thranduil. It was a lot.

 

I got dressed up anyways. I sat before my mirror and put on my red lipstick. And that's where I started crying. But I couldn't let myself cry now, I just couldn't. If I cried now, I would never stop. I brushed away the tears and replaced them with foundation and blush. I would put on a mask for tonight, maybe that would help. And more lipstick. I poured myself a glass of wine and took a sip, staring at my bag that was sitting by the door. I felt the tears coming back, but I pushed them back down. No, not yet. I could cry later. I heard his footsteps on the stairs and I took a deep breath, then another one. Then the door opened and I put down my glass. "Shit, there are a lot of stairs." Bard shut the door behind him then walked towards me and dropped his keys on the counter. "And hello to you." He kissed my lips quickly. "How was your day? You look wonderful." He smiled, but I didn't. I had tried to figure out what I was going to say in this moment, but nothing was coming to my mind. Only one thing was. 

"I read Thranduil's story today. The one on the flash-drive."

"Okay," he nodded. "Was it good?" I could tell that he didn't know what to say. 

"I didn't know you'd asked him to marry you." At these words, Bard froze. His eyes wide, his legs slightly apart, his hands hanging down. He froze. But he had to say something.

"I...um...didn't know he wrote that in there."

"He did."

"You know that, um, I told you that I would tell you about Thranduil one day...And it wasn't even a big deal, it just made sense to ask him when I did." His words were coming out awkwardly, but what did I expect?

"I thought you were going to tell me about a great friendship or maybe a few hook-ups...I didn't know part of your story with Thranduil was you asking him to share your life with you. Really old friends? I think you were a bit more than that." He gave a slight nod, still unsure what to do or say. The thing was, there was nothing else to do or say at this point. "I would have wanted to know something, just something about that." I was trying to make excuses for what I was doing, but the fact was that I didn't need to. 

"So are you mad at Thranduil now too since he didn't tell you?" Now he was getting defensive.

"I'm not sleeping with Thranduil! And I wasn't falling in love with him and thinking he was doing the same."

"Lora, you know I-"

"No! You don't get to say anything now." I stepped away from him and headed towards the door.

"So that's it?"

"That's it." I picked up my bag and pulled the door open. "Trust is a big deal for me, Bard. I think you know that it's a big deal in any relationship. Since we don't have that trust, I don't see any reason to continue what we're doing." Then I left and closed the door. I got into my car, turned it on, then tried to think of what I was going to do next. I didn't break up with Bard to be with Thranduil, don't think that I did. I broke up with Bard because I needed to. And now I didn't know where I would be living for the next few days. I could go back to my apartment with no water...or I could call in a favor from a couple of...old friends. I think we all know that I didn't go back to my apartment.   



	17. The Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...this one got emotional for me because I wrote some of my personal experiences and emotions into Lora. Whew. Now that that's done, we'll get on to happier subjects...Or will we...? ;)  
> Thank you all so much for your kind comments! So many of you are faithful commenters and I look forward to reading them after I post each chapter. Love you all!

I had known Eowyn and Eomer since high school and we had always been close. They owned an apartment near mine, and when I asked, were very happy to welcome me for the next few days. I'd have the couch, since Eowyn was recently engaged to a dashing young man who she had met while visiting me at college, but a couch was better than my car. Faramir had been heavily pursued on campus, especially since his athletic abilities were accompanied by a quietness brought on by his family troubles at home. But one look at Eowyn and Faramir was completely off the market. I liked to say that I matched them up. I didn't, but I liked to say it. And technically, they wouldn't have met each other if I hadn't chosen to go to that college. So yeah, I matched them up. "Oh my gosh!" Eowyn wrapped her arms around me tightly then pulled away enough for her bright eyes to look into mine. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"She even made us clean up since you were coming." The deep voice of Eowyn's brother came from behind her and I smiled up at Eomer. 

"Why, did you make it a mess before?"

"He certainly did," Eowyn chimed in. I stood on my tip-toes to give Eomer a hug. 

"It's really good to see you guys."

"I'm so glad you called us! Come in, come in." Eowyn grabbed my hand and pulled me farther into the apartment while Eomer took my suitcase from me and put it in a corner of the very clean and very girly-looking living room. 

"It's so pretty in here," I commented, looking around at the fresh flowers and many pillows. 

"Oh, you like it? I'm experimenting with what I like for when Faramir and I get married."

"She's been doing a little too much shopping and a little too much decorating." Eomer gave his sister a wink before seating himself on the sofa. "Oh, and jogging. Did you know she was into jogging?"

"We'll have to go jogging." Eowyn grinned at me. "You're so skinny, though, I'm sure you must exercise all the time." My mind flashed back to all those days of me just sitting on the couch eating Doritos. Yup...I exercised a lot...

"Sounds like fun." Sounds like hell.

"But come, sit down, tell us what you've been up to." I was pulled to the couch and sat down between brother and sister. We were squished, but we didn't care. I told them a little about what had been going on, just enough to make it sound complete without telling them a single thing that had actually happened. That wasn't something you just jumped into. Eomer gave me a short run-down of his job at a stable before he was interrupted by his sister who wanted to show me magazines of wedding ideas while interjecting stories about her job as a personal trainer. All-in-all these siblings had their life pretty much in order...and then there was me. I was sitting on someone else's couch to get out of my apartment which had no water after breaking up with someone and, through it all, I was hopelessly unemployed. Wow, when you start comparing your life to others, it gets depressing fast.

 

"Are you sure you don't mind if I go?" Eowyn asked anxiously.

"No, of course not! You go see your man. Eomer and I will be fine." I reassured her. 

"Okay," Eowyn grinned. "Goodnight." She blew us a kiss, then headed out the door. 

"Do you want hot chocolate?" I asked Eomer as I stood and headed towards the kitchen.

"That would be nice. Thank you." He sent me a cute smile which I replied to with a salute. Not sure why, but hopefully it came back as playful in a friendly way...hopefully...I leaned against the counter as I waited for the water to boil, listening to the sounds of the college football game that Eomer was watching. I knew nothing of sports until I started living with Thorin, who might be categorized as the biggest sports fan if all time. Complete with the face-paint at games and sometimes at home. So now I knew the basics like what the calls meant and when it was unacceptable to yell at the TV. Unlike Thorin, Eomer did not vocalize his thoughts while watching games and instead stayed silent and drank his beer. I think I found my new game-watching buddy...for whenever I felt like watching a game. Which was...not often. The whistle of the kettle interrupted my random thoughts and I quickly poured the water into the two mugs and stirred in the cocoa mix. Yes, I could make it from scratch if I wanted to. No I didn't want to. I added the French Vanilla coffee creamer that was in the fridge, then carried the two mugs back out to the living room. "Thank you." Eomer took his attention from the game long enough to look at me as he thanked me and took the mug. Another difference from Thorin. Why was I comparing everyone to my ex? Gosh, Lora, cut it out. I sat down on the couch next to him and pulled my feet up beside me. Then, to my surprise, he picked up the remote and clicked off the TV. "So," he looked over at me and I think I was still staring in shock at the television. "Do I have to beat someone up?"

"What?" I gave a light laugh as my expression changed to a confused one.

"When you were telling us about what has been going on in your life you neglected to mention a guy. When did you two break up?" Should I be insulted that he thinks I'm always dating someone? Well he wasn't wrong. At least recently, that is.

"Right before I left to come here," I admitted. 

"What did he do?"

"Uh...he didn't tell me...well, he didn't tell me a lot, but he didn't tell me about someone who had played a big part in his life."

"Trust issues?"

"I guess that's what it came down to, yeah."

"Do you want me to go beat him up?" A playful smile was now tugging at the corners of his lips. It was really sweet, you know...to know someone cared that much about you to just ask. 

"No," I shook my head as I gave him a small smile. "We just weren't...supposed to be together right now. And that's okay," I shrugged. "It's done."

"Well I'm always here if you need me for something like that."

"Thank you." I leaned over and kissed his cheek, then settled in next to him as he turned the game back on, but the smile had faded from my face. And the pain was there again, just a numbing pain. I didn't want to have to break up with him, I had fought for him, but that wasn't enough. I just wish that it had been. But a relationship takes two people, not one, even if that person tries really hard. One's not enough.

 

 

I spent the next day alone since both of the young adults I now lived with had jobs...so I spent some time with the housewives in Atlanta again. And I finished all of the granola bars in the house. Sorry guys. The next morning, Eowyn didn't have to go in to work as early, so she suggested we go for that jog. Yay. I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt then met her in the living room where she was doing stretches in a sports bra and very tight yoga pants. "You ready?" She was far too excited to just be running. 

"Yeah...is this outfit okay?"

"You look great! Let's go!" So we grabbed our bottles of water and headed out of her building. As we did, we passed a shady-looking guy who was incredibly pale and looked like he had been waiting for us. As soon as she saw him, Eowyn grabbed my hand and hurried us forward, outside and into the sunshine. "That's our land-lord, Mr. Worm-tongue. He's always staring at me and making me feel uncomfortable. Eomer almost called the police once because of him, but we don't want to lose our place. It's hard enough to find a place to live in this city. But I'm getting married soon and Faramir and I won't live here. But," here she turned to smile at me. "You should tell me about him."

"About Mr. Wormtongue?"   


"No, silly, about the guy you're seeing."

"I'm not seeing any guy." Wow. That was actually really hard to say. By now we were jogging at a steady pace and I could use that as an excuse to not talk as much. 

"Well I was scrolling through meaningless news the other day when I found pictures of some author's book release party. You were there with a very nice looking man." She sent me a knowing smile, but unfortunately it no longer applied.

"Oh...Yeah, that was Bard."

"Bard...that's a good name. Good and short." She let out a laugh. "So tell me about Bard."

"We're not together anymore so there's not really a point..."

"Why not? He looked rather dashing."

"I think...he was still in love with someone else."

"Oh dear. I'm glad you left him then." It took me a minute to respond to that...but then I did.

"I am too."

 

Then came the time when I just missed him. Like when Faramir came over and we all sat on the couch and watched a movie. They were tangled together the whole time, and while it was amusing to throw popcorn at them with Eomer, it got old fast. I just remembered that just a few days ago, I had someone to sit on the couch with. Someone who I could focus on instead of the movie. I wondered if he thought about me as much as I thought about him. Probably not. When I had been out jogging with Eowyn, I had told her that the reason things didn't work out was because Bard was still in love with someone else. I didn't know that was true until I said it, but it was. I wondered if he knew that. He probably didn't. He had been thinking about himself for so long, why stop now? And I guess it was when that thought entered my mind when I realized how sad I really was. I was distraught. Distraught...you know that word always reminds me of a drought in a desert - no rain, tons of cracks, nothing growing. That's how I felt. Bard hadn't broken my heart, but he had definitely cracked it. And on top of that, I had cheated on a wonderful man to be with him. So after everything, I didn't have the feeling that I would never love again, I just felt like I shouldn't be loved again. I'd hurt someone to be with a man who never truly cared for me...what did that say about me? Not anything good. No...nothing good at all.

 

"Can I drive you?" Eomer was standing in the doorway as I packed up my things. It was time to go back to my apartment, the water was back on, and as much as I loved spending time with Eowyn and Eomer, I couldn't stay here any more. I needed to figure out my life and I couldn't do that while laying on someone else's couch. 

"I have my car," I replied, glancing up at the tall man currently sporting a man-bun. "But thank you."

"Then let me at least carry your suitcase out."

"Okay," I gave him a small smile. "I'll let you do that." I wasn't opposed to strong, muscular men carrying my stuff. I finished stuffing everything into the suitcase, then practically sat on it as I zipped it up. "There ya go." I pulled on my shoes, then we were ready to go. As we headed out to my car, my phone went off. Bard's picture was the one that lit up my screen, so I pressed 'ignore' and kept walking. When I reached the car, it went off again. No, you do not get to talk to me right now, Bard.  
"Do you need to get that?" Eomer asked as he pulled my trunk open.  
"No," I shook my head. I had said goodbye to Eowyn this morning before work, so now I just had to say goodbye to her brother. I hugged him longer than I meant to. Then as we pulled away, he kissed my forehead gently. "Thank you for everything." I gave him a smile as I pulled away and he returned it as he nodded.

"Anytime. You know that you're always welcome here."

"Thanks." Then I gave him the awkward half-wave you do when you're ready to leave but don't know how to walk away without it being weird. I climbed into my car and off I went. Back to my apartment. My empty apartment.

 

My phone went off one more time before I reached home, so I just reached over and turned my phone off. Apparently he was starting to feel remorse. Well that was his problem and I wouldn't make it mine. I climbed the stairs slowly to my apartment, trying not to look at the Sylvan's door for too long. They probably weren't home yet, but it was hard not to remember the last time I had seen Thranduil, standing outside of that door. I pushed that aside and climbed the remaining steps up to my apartment. I pushed my key into the lock and took a deep breath before pushing the door open. It was never fun to come home to an empty apartment. "Where the hell have you been?" My head jerked towards the sound and I saw Bard stepping out of the kitchen. "I've been trying to call you for the past hour."

"I was just...what are you doing here?" My voice suddenly became cautious and I took a step back. Bard's expression suddenly turned to one filled with crushing pain.

"They've been in an accident." 


	18. The Minor Injuries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of Ed Sheeran went into the writing of this chapter. I listened to his newest album quite a bit as I wrote this. Does that give you clues about how sad it will be? Probably.  
> We hit 100 Kudos! Thank you, guys, so much! *mwah* I'm so blessed :)

I didn't even need to ask who 'they' were. "We have to go." Then he was grabbing my hand and practically running out the door with me right behind him. The full gravity of the situation didn't hit me until I was climbing in the car and he was putting the key into the ignition.

"Bard, what happened?" The words came out in gasps as the fear set in. I was suddenly terrified.

"I don't know. The hospital called me and I knew he'd want to see you." Bard could have meant either Legolas or Thranduil, but right now it didn't matter. My heart was beating so fast, I thought I might have a heart attack. 

"Are they alive?" The words barely made it out of my mouth. Bard paused, his eyes focused on the road in front of him.

"I think so." If I could have screamed, I would have, but I was now starting to freeze in terror and could no longer move or talk. I just sat there staring straight ahead, willing us to drive faster, to get there sooner. They had to be alive. They just had to. I couldn't lose him. I couldn't lose either of them.

 

"Thranduil Sylvan." Bard's words were rushed as he spoke to the woman behind the counter. 

"Bard Bowman?" We turned to see a doctor in chocolate-brown scrubs. Bard gave a sharp nod. "Come this way." We followed the doctor through a set of doors then down a few corridors. When I noticed that we were following the signs to the ICU, my heart sped up again and I quickly found Bard's hand. He squeezed it tightly, looking over at me. He was trying to be reassuring, but both of us were terrified. We finally stopped outside of one of the rooms and a nurse walked out, shutting the door behind her, and handed the doctor a clip-board. "Are you any immediate relation to the Sylvans?" The doctor asked. 

"No, I'm an old friend and...so is she," Bard answered for us. 

"Well, I'm Dr. Elrond Sindarin. Your friends were in a very serious car accident. Apparently their car swerved off the road and hit some sort of electric pole. This only cause minor injuries in both the driver and passenger, some minor bruising at most, but the impact must have ruptured something inside the engine and the car burst into flames, primarily on the driver's side. The driver is currently in surgery after having suffered extremely severe burns to the left side of his face and body. The passenger did not require surgery and suffered less severe burns. It's possible that the driver also shielded the passenger as much as he could before losing consciousness. The passenger has been asking for you." I didn't have to be told twice. I rushed through the door and to the bedside of the young boy. Legolas was laying in a large bed, nearly engulfed by the pristine white bedding. Bandages were wrapped around his chest and left arm, as well as his forehead. These were less severe burns? I took his small hand in mine and that's when I noticed that he was awake, but his eyes were closed. A few tears were still glistening on his cheeks and he seemed reluctant to respond. 

"Legolas, it's Lora. I'm here, sweetie." I pressed his hand to my lips and held on tightly. Then I just started crying. I couldn't help it. Why was this beautiful little boy laying here covered in bandages? How was that fair? I felt Bard's hand on my back and it reminded me of why we were here. We weren't here to cry, we were here to be strong for Legolas. Bard sat down on the edge of the bed and we saw Legolas take a deep breath then exhale. 

"How's my dad?" My eyes went to Bard's face. There was no way that I was going to answer that question. 

"He's in surgery right now, Legolas." Legolas's eyes opened at the sound of Bard's voice and he looked at him. "The doctors are working on him, so he's gonna be okay."

"Did you see him?" Legolas's voice made a choking sound and new tears formed in his eyes. "We couldn't get out of the car. I thought we were gonna die." 

"But you're okay now," Bard reassured him. "You're gonna be just fine, and so is your dad."

"He was so hurt when they pulled him out," Legolas continued, working hard to get every word past his tears. "I thought he was dead."

"He's not." A small smile pulled across Bard's face and he reached up to brush the tears from Legolas's cheeks. "He's gonna be fine, Legolas." But at this, Legolas just shook  his head, then closed his eyes again, letting go of my hand and rolling onto his side. He pressed his face into the pillow so we could only hear the muffled sound of his sobs and I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and ran out of the room. Down the hall and to a small waiting area inhabited by only an elderly couple. Here, I leaned against the wall as my breathing came in gasps. "Lora!" Bard had followed me and when he found me against the wall, he pulled me into his arms and I just let everything out. We sank to the floor and that's when I realized that I wasn't the only one crying. He was clinging to me as much as I clung to him. I wasn't the only one who loved these people, and he had known them far longer. He had almost become the father of that little boy crying into his pillow. I suddenly felt selfish that I was the one crying, but I knew he didn't see it that way. We just sat there on the floor, crying as hard as we could. This might be the only chance we'd get.

 

Legolas's burns weren't terribly deep, but he had to be kept in the hospital in case an infection developed. Bard and I stood to one side of the room and watched as they changed the bandages. We were able to see the large patches of red skin that ran up Legolas's left arm and the small area on his forehead which had a deeper burn. There were a few minor burns on his chest as well. We watched as they were carefully rinsed, then medicine was applied before they were covered again. Legolas winced with almost every movement. The burns weren't deep enough to deaden the nerves, so he was in extreme pain. He was hooked up to multiple IVs, keeping him hydrated, and creating the look that his condition was worse than it really was. He was given more medicine, then we were left alone with him once more. He made it very clear that he didn't want to talk, so we put on the TV and both sat by him. After three episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Dr. Sindarin peaked his head in and motioned for us to come speak to him. Once in the hallway, he told us that Thranduil had just been moved out of surgery. "He's still asleep and will be for a while, but I wanted to let you know. His condition is not good, but he's stable."

"Can we see him?" I asked suddenly. 

"As the closest to the family, I could bring you in, Mr. Bowman, but that's the only one allowed at this time. Again, he's not awake, but if you wish to see him for a moment, you may." At this suggestion, Bard was nodding adamantly. 

"Yes, I'd like to go."

"Alright. You may come with me." The doctor motioned down the hall and before Bard followed, he squeezed my shoulder gently. I gave him a small smile then walked back into the room. I can't tell you how desperately I wanted to see Thranduil, but I had to wait. Maybe when he was awake. I sighed rather loudly as I sat back down on the bed next to Legolas. 

"Bard's going to see your dad?" That got a response out of him very quickly.

"Is he out of surgery?"

"Yes," I nodded. "They didn't say anything about how he was," besides how he was bad... "But they're letting Bard see him. He's still asleep, but," I shrugged. "Bard will be able to tell us how well he's doing." Please Bard, please be able to tell us how well he's doing. 

"Good." And I saw the first flicker of a smile on Legolas's face.

"Do you want to tell me about how your trip was? How was the cabin?" I tried to sound excited, happy that I at least got him into a semi-conversation.

"I don't want to talk about it." Okay, better to not push my luck. So I settled in to watch the next installment of the so-not-gripping saga of the animated Jedi.

 

After ten minutes of waiting, I realized that I was starving. It was probably better to eat now, before I heard any more bad news and wouldn't be able to eat. I stepped out of Legolas's room and looked up and down the hallway. I tried to remember if there had been a vending machine around the small waiting area I had found earlier...there probably was. Yeah, there had to be. So I followed the same path I had taken a few hours ago and sure enough, there was a big black vending machine. "Ah, my friend, so good to see you." I was speaking in a French accent...to a vending machine. It's official, I've completely lost it. I decided that I definitely wanted chocolate along with my chips, so I put the money in then pressed the buttons. The food started to slide out of its slot...but, as we can all relate to, the chocolate decided to get stuck. I let out a loud groan as I rested my forehead against the plastic window. It was right there! I could see it! I tried to shake the machine, but it was incredibly large and I was incredibly weak. I tried kicking it a few times, but, as I stated before, I was incredibly weak. So I just laid against the window again and thought about all the failures in my life. 

"You need some help?" I looked up to see a very pretty nurse smiling at me. 

"Uh, yeah, my chocolate is stuck."

"Let me get that for you." She pulled a ring of keys of out of her pocket, then opened up the door and pulled out the chocolate bar for me. Note to self: steal that key later and make a copy. Do you know how much power you'd have with the key to the vending machine? 

"Thank you." I glanced down at her name-tag to see who I owed my life to, and read 'Nurse Sindarin'. "Sindarin? I just met a Dr. Sindarin."

"Yeah, that's my dad." She smiled. "Well, I have a patient in desperate need of a sponge bath. See you later." Then she went off on her merry way leaving me standing there with my chips and my chocolate. For just a few minutes, I'd been able to forget about the gravity of the situation, but as I walked back to Legolas's room, it hit me again. 

 

 

Bard was back a little too quickly. Then he stood outside of the door and waited for me to join him. Another sign that wasn't very encouraging. "What is it?" I asked, closing the door gently behind me. "Legolas is going to want to know how his dad is."

"I had to tell you first." Bard's face looked like he had seen a ghost and he kept shifting around and not looking directly at me.

"Bard...how bad is it?" I asked slowly. He bit his lip then looked at me. 

"When I first walked in..." He had to take a deep breath before continuing. "He was just laying there...he's almost completely covered in bandages, Lora...then they had to show a doctor part of his...I just saw them take the bandages off his face, and..." He could barely continue at this point and closed his eyes, taking in slow breaths. "He's so changed, Lora." Terror was threatening to surge through my body, but I couldn't. Not right now.

"Come here. He's gonna be okay." I pulled Bard into another tight hug and held on. Write this down, because this was going to be the only time I was going to be able to be strong for someone else here. The pain in my chest was a million times worse than any other pain I'd felt. It was pure fear. Nothing more, nothing less. I was terrified because someone who I cared...deeply about...was laying in a recovery room covered in bandages...and I could do nothing to help him.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally had this chapter without the scene with the vending machine, then realized that I couldn't possibly post that sad and serious of a chapter. I couldn't do that to you guys. Hopefully it helped a little to break up all the bad news...  
> And, you know, these are my characters and I'm very very close to every one of them. It breaks my heart to see them in pain, even if it is for the benefit of the story. It's really hard to write this stuff and know that it's happening. Is that weird since I'm technically the "writer"? Maybe...but I do honestly care for them and feel their pain. There won't be too many more chapters this depressing.


	19. The Burn Victim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was saving that title for Thranduil <3  
> I don't know why I'm torturing myself like this, guys...but hopefully it's something you guys can love and appreciate.   
> I wanted to share this absolutely gorgeous piece of fan art with you guys: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/fury-brad-pitt-c5df1226-1d3c-47d8-b06c-5370877c127d. I am not the artist (psh I can't draw a stick figure straight), but whoever made it deserves to have eternally strong WiFi and for their favorite TV shows to never end. I've used it for inspiration for this chapter, and definitely will in the future as well.

It was just before bed when we were given the news that Thranduil had woken up. Bard begged to see him, but he was turned down. Tomorrow, they said, tomorrow he could see him. Then we had to decide on the sleeping arrangements. One person, not both of us, was allowed to stay with Legolas in his room, because Legolas already shared the room with a teenage boy on the other side of a curtain. Bard told me I could stay in the room tonight and retired to the waiting area down the hall. I pulled two chairs together then settled down to try to sleep. It wasn't comfortable, but I got to be close to Legolas. Legolas had no trouble falling asleep, so I lay in my double chair bed and watched him for a while. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, but the bandages and IVs told me a different story. He wasn't okay right now, but he would be. He...would...be...

 

I woke up several times during the night, but once it hit 6:00 AM, I decided not to try to sleep anymore. I walked over to the window, past the curtain which hid the other young boy and his sleeping mother, and watched the sunrise. I then walked down the hall where I found Bard pacing in the waiting area. "I hope you haven't been doing that all night," I told him as I ran my fingers through my messy hair. He shook his head.

"Not all night."

"Well come on," I held out my hand. "Let's go grab some breakfast before they wake up." He seemed reluctant, but he took my hand and we wandered downstairs then outside. We settled on Dennys for breakfast and when we sat down, I remembered how a few months previous, Bard had proposed to me in a Dennys. I knew he had to be thinking the same thing. Or maybe I was being presumptuous and he was just thinking about Thranduil. That was also a possibility. We ordered our food then sat in silence. What was there to say besides how worried and scared we were? And what good would it do to voice that? We both already knew how we felt. We knew how hard this was. So we sat in silence, then we ate in silence. Bard's eyes kept wandering out the window and towards the hospital. It was just past 7:00 AM and I knew that Thranduil should still be asleep, and even if he wasn't, it would be too early to see him, but I couldn't say that to the guy sitting across from me who was terrified about the man he loved.

 

We walked back to the hospital then rode up in the elevator with a woman who was crying in the arms of her husband. That was always a scary thing to see. Bard just tightened his grip on my hand and I squeezed it back. Then we both took a deep breath, put on our game face, and walked back to Legolas's room. A few nurses were clustered around him, changing his bandages and asking him questions about his level of pain. Apparently it was still high. We waited in the hallway and were able to catch Dr. Sindarin as he walked past. "He's still in a lot of pain, but we don't have much else we'll be doing for him besides administering medication. We're still watching for infection, but if he looks good by tonight, we'll move him out of the ICU and into a normal hospital room."

"How much longer will he have to remain in the hospital?" Bard asked.

"Well a rough estimate would be one day for the percentage of his body that have burns. He burned about 13% of his body, so we're looking at ten or so more days if there's no infection, just to make sure everything's healing how it should."

"Then I'd hate to hear the estimate for his father," I said quietly. 

"Yes, Mr. Sylvan is a different story since his burns are deeper and more wide-spread."

"Can I see him?" Bard was quick to ask again.

"Let's wait til about 9:00, then someone will come get you. We still have to check everything on him." Dr. Elrond didn't sound very worried when he spoke about either patient, he just spoke very calmly. It was reassuring. We thanked him, then stepped back into Legolas's room. He looked more alert today as he turned to look at us. 

"Hey, honey, how are you feeling?" I asked as I pulled half of my bed up beside him and sat down with Bard perched on the arm. 

"It still hurts."

"Well you're being very brave." I gave him the biggest smile that I could. 

"Did you see my dad yet?" Legolas directed his question towards the man beside me. 

"Not yet, hopefully soon."

"Will you tell him that I'm okay? I don't want him to worry about me. He just needs to worry about him."

"I'll tell him," Bard assured him.

"Did you have breakfast?" I wasn't sure what the procedures for eating in a hospital were, but every TV show ever said that the food was bad, so I was very willing to bring in outside food for him. He nodded in reply. 

"Yes, they gave me applesauce and a banana. It's hard to eat with my bandage on."

"But you look like a zombie with those bad boys on! I bet you like that, at least." Bard reached over and tickled Legolas as he spoke, rousing a fit of laughter from the small patient. 

"Stop! I'm hurt!" Legolas playfully pushed him away until Bard pulled back. "I'm gonna have a lot of scars, aren't I?" He became serious as the thought suddenly came over him.

"Well," Bard started. "You're probably gonna have a few bad-ass ones."

"Dad's gonna have more than me."

"Well your dad's a little more bad-ass than you." Bard smiled as he spoke and I had to smile too. That was a good thing to say. More points for you, Bard.

 

My dark eyes peered back at me through the bathroom mirror. I had a normal face, nothing too out of the ordinary. If you looked closely, you could tell that one of my eyebrows was more curved than the other, but that was my own fault when I was shaping them. I was so used to seeing my own face in front of me, I couldn't imagine it being any different. Aside from the occasional break-out of course. I reached up and ran my fingers over the left side of my face, desperately trying to imagine deep burns or scars decorating my skin. I couldn't do it. I put my hand over my whole left side of my face and tried to get used to just seeing the right side of my face as it was. I did look different with just half of my normal face. Then there was my whole face again, right in front of me. I'd known it longer than anyone else's. I was attached to the face in front of me, and not just physically. How was someone supposed to get used to seeing only half of the face they recognize? What would happen when they saw themselves - so different - for the first time? I felt a shudder run through my body and I had to turn away from the mirror. If I couldn't even get through the thought process...how was he supposed to ever get used to a new version of himself?

 

 

Bard was laying on the bed next to Legolas, letting him play on his phone, and I was flipping through channels on the TV when Nurse Sindarin peaked into the room. "Thranduil is ready to see you." Bard nearly fell off the bed in his haste to get up and as he joined the nurse at the door, I realized that I wanted to go to. No, like I really wanted to go to. I needed to see Thranduil for myself. "Both of you can come," She smiled. Yes! I stood up, but paused to look at Bard. I guess it kind of had to be okay with him if I went. He nodded and held out his hand to me and I quickly joined him at the door. 

"We'll be back soon, Legolas." Bard called back to the little boy who was still playing on his phone, then we began the trek to Thranduil's room. It really wasn't that far, but when your feet get really heavy and all you can hear is your heartbeat and heavy breathing, any distance seems far. We paused before the door and the nurse stepped aside, leaving us to go in. Bard let go of my hand then we both took deep breaths, then we entered.

 

And there he was. Laying on a bed identical to Legolas's, only his was moved so he could be in more of a sitting position. I didn't know what to expect and I'd heard Bard's description, but nothing would have prepared me to see what was in front of me. Thranduil's shirt had been removed, but what skin would have been covered by the fabric was almost completely covered in white gauze. His hair was pulled back and out of the way and a large bandage wrapped around his head then down the middle of his face, spreading out over the entire left side. The bandages extended down his neck and shoulder, and across his chest. The only area of his body, besides the right side of his face, that was fully untouched was his right arm. His hand had a small bandage around it, but the rest of his arm was free. Aside from the bandages, he had multiple IVs attached to him. I'd never seen someone in need of so much...but then he turned and looked at us...and this look of...intense relief seemed to come over him. I was still comprehending his condition when Bard was at his side, seating himself on the bed beside Thranduil and softly cradling his head in his hands. Bard leaned his forehead gently against the other man's and they were silent, their eyes closed, then I heard Bard start whispering to him. I just looked at this picture before me of the two men who used to be lovers and I felt...rejected. I felt rejected. How selfish was I? This was a man who had been through hell, literally, lying there covered in bandages and I was feeling sorry for myself that he was happy in the arms of someone else? I wanted to walk out of that room, but I couldn't do that. I was there for Thranduil and I would stay for Thranduil. I didn't have to be at his side for him to know that I was there for him. Then Thranduil said something and Bard moved around to his other side and sat on the foot of the bed. Thranduil's eyes turned on me, then he slowly held out his hand. I felt stuck to the floor, practically unable to move. I was shaking, but I had to, I had to move. I wanted to, but my body fought every step that it took to reach his side. Then I was taking his hand and I felt him squeeze mine. "Thank you for being here." His voice sounded ragged and heavy with pain, like every word was a struggle. "Thank you for taking care of my son."

"Of course," I whispered. "I'm not going anywhere." I moved my hand to the side of his face then leaned down and pressed my lips against his forehead. I don't know why I did that..but it felt right. The hand that I held turned, and our fingers tangled together then folded behind my back.  Then he laid his head against my chest and I wrapped my free arm around him as gently as I could. I couldn't do anything to alleviate his pain, but I could be there. And nothing, not hell, wild horses, or anything else would take me away from him.


	20. The Necessary Procedure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry that this wasn't up sooner - I've had a busy past few days. I hope you enjoy this chapter, though, it's not quite as sad as the other ones...

How can you relate to the pain of someone who had been burned alive until the sheer pain and heat had caused them to fall unconscious? How could you possibly help them? How do you even dare think you could sympathize while you sit there looking exactly how you've always looked, able to walk out of the hospital at any time? These were the thoughts crowding into my head as I sat beside Thranduil's bed, my hands folded so tightly that my knuckles had gone white. He was resting now, but I couldn't leave him. Legolas had asked for Bard, so he had rejoined the little boy while I stayed by the bed of the father. The room was silent besides the occasional beep of the machines that were keeping Thranduil hydrated, fed, and alive. I wasn't someone who prayed regularly, but now seemed like the most appropriate time. I reached out and took Thranduil's hand in mine, sliding off my chair and onto my knees. I made it short and to the point. Just, "God, please don't let him die. Heal him and his son." They always said that prayers didn't have to be fancy, so that should do the trick. I pressed his fingers to my lips then looked up at his sleeping face. Even now, covered in bandages, he still looked like a supermodel. The right half of his face wasn't as pure white as it usually was, but he was still beautiful. He would always be beautiful to me, I guess. That was Thranduil for you. "Please live," I whispered softly. He couldn't hear me, nobody could hear me, I wasn't in a movie, but that was what I desperately wanted. Just for him to live. That was all.

 

Thankfully, Legolas did not develop an infection and he was able to be moved into a normal hospital room in the hospital's burn unit. Thranduil was kept in the ICU for a few more days. Legolas was downright spoiled during his stay, but I couldn't say that the kid didn't deserve it. Bard and I would always bring him tons of junk food and any of the toys from home that he asked for. Then one of us would stay the night, and sometimes both of us would. My first time going back home felt incredibly wrong. I looked around at my comfortable furniture and even the wood floor beneath my feet that I was welcome to walk on as much as I wanted. Why did I get to stand here in my own home while they had to lay in hospital beds? Thranduil couldn't even walk on his own...why was I the privileged one? I guess we all take comfy furniture and wood floors for granted. Let me just remind you that some people don't get to be home with their furniture and floors. Be thankful for where you are. Hey, I'm just full of life lessons recently, and they're good ones. Needless to say, I didn't spend many more nights at home. I went home occasionally to check my mail and when I needed a break from the hospital smells, but I spent as much time as I could with either Thranduil or Legolas. Legolas was far more needy, meaning he voiced his wants more often, so he was usually who I would stay with. I had made a new friend at the hospital, though. The nurse who helped me with the vending machine. Yeah, her.

 

"Is it any good?" The nurse asked, a grin decorating her pretty face. I had tasted Legolas's tuna salad after he had stated that it was inedible. He was right. 

"Um...well...personally, I'd hire a new cook."

"I'll file your complaint alongside everybody else's." She laughed lightly. "But we're a hospital, we're paid to make people better, not to cook well."

"I know, and thank you for what you're doing for them." My tone suddenly became serious, and I surprised myself with the words that came out of my mouth. But I was thankful. They were doing what they could for two people I loved. 

"You're welcome." She moved the tray of rejected food to her hip. "You're putting on a good brave face for them."

"I'm trying...I'm Lora by the way." I stuck out my hand, unsure if you were supposed to shake hands with nurses or not. She shook it, so I guess it wasn't that bad. 

"I'm Arwen. Are you just friends with Legolas and his dad?"

"Uh...yeah. I guess." Ugh, make that sound more natural, Lora. You are just friends. Basically. "I was Legolas's child-care worker."

"Snazzy," she commented on my not using the word 'nanny'. 

"Yeah, just for the summer...so how long have you been a nurse here?"

"For about seven years." She nodded then gave me another pretty smile. "I grew up watching my dad help people and knew that I wanted to do the same thing."

"Well you're doing a great job. Sometimes I think you guys must use magic." We laughed, but I was serious. People who were willing to be doctors and nurses were awesome people. I could never do it, so I was thankful for those who could. 

"Just a little fairy dust," Arwen chuckled, then spoke proudly. "It does seem magical how far we've come and what science has discovered for us. I'm sure you've heard a little about that with the skin grafting procedure we're going to do on Thranduil."

"Not really," I shook my head. "I just heard that you were going to do it. Will it be able to conceal Thranduil's scars?"

"Not entirely. He will always have scars because the burns were so deep, especially on his face, but the skin grafting will help the area heal quicker and will conceal some. We're basically just going to take some skin from a healthy part of his body and cover the burned areas. The skin may be a slightly different color once it's grafted onto his burns, but with time it may blend in. There will still be scaring, but it will be whiter in color, not as red and noticeable." 

"Well...if that what has to happen." The whole thing sounded so horrible and I couldn't imagine having to go through such a procedure...but if that's what they had to do... 

"Don't worry about it, he's in good hands and it will help." Arwen was trying to reassure me and I realized I must have had a horrified look on my face. "I have to go check in on another patient, but I'll see you later." She gave me a parting smile, then disappeared down the hall. I think that when people spoke about the necessary procedures or people's conditions, the gravity of the situation would just sink in more. Every once in a while I could forget just how badly they were hurt, but I couldn't forget when I was told what would have to happen as a result. Then the fear would return and there was nothing I could do to fight fear.

 

"Are you scared?" I didn't expect to tell me the truth if he was, but I did want to know. I was sitting by Thranduil's bed again while a male nurse was getting ready to change his bandages. 

"About the procedure? No." He spoke confidently, so I hoped that was the truth. Thranduil's words came out easier now, though he still had to speak slowly. When the side of his face had been burned, I was told that his whole left cheek had been burned through and the fire had even singed part of his tongue. But I still had not seen any of his scars.

"I was told it would help you heal quicker."

"Neither way is going to be quick, Lora." Thranduil spoke casually even though the words that came out of his mouth weren't casual. But the nurse was ready and moved to begin removing the bandages. "Wait," Thranduil ordered, then he looked over at me. "You can go, Lora."

"I don't mind staying if you want me-"

"I want you to leave. I'll see you later." His response was so curt, right to the point. He was basically ordering me out. I hesitated a moment, then slowly stood. 

"Okay, see you later," I said softly. Then I left the room, closed the door behind me, then leaned against the wall outside. He didn't want me to see what the fire had done to him. I wanted to, I wanted to know as much about it as I could. I wanted to know his pain, what I could of it, but he wouldn't let me. And I had to be okay with that. My eyes went back to the door that I had just closed. Maybe one day he would show me.

It didn't take. I guess with skin grafts, it's kind of like organ transplants...the body has to accept it. The more minor skin grafts on his arm, shoulder, and neck were accepted. The graft onto his face didn't take. That was where the deepest burns were and that's where the deepest scar would be. I stood outside while the doctor spoke to Thranduil, tried to tell him that they could try again. Thranduil refused. He wanted to be left alone, he said, he would heal normally. The doctor began to persist that they could try again, it would help, and that's when Thranduil told him to get out. The doctor left quickly and I stepped into the doorway. I wanted to be there in case Thranduil wanted me, but he was sitting up in his bed, his head buried in his hands. I stepped back out and slid down to a sitting position on the floor. I didn't cry, but the mixture of pain and sadness was tight in my chest. I wanted to understand, but I would never be able to understand. He knew that and now I did too.


	21. The First Night At Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, a little respite from all that sadness. It's not the happiest, but it's happier then it has been :). Enjoy!

"Your dad's not gonna let you skip all your school work, right?" Those were the first words out of Tauriel's mouth as she bounded into Legolas's hospital room. 

"Is that a hello?" Legolas said with an eye-roll, gaining a smile from his friend. 

"Hello." Tauriel climbed onto the foot of the bed and folded her legs beneath her. "Does it hurt?"

"A little."

"Can I feel it?" Tauriel reached out her hand towards Legolas's bandaged forehead. 

"Be gentle."

"I will. I won't hurt you." Her slender fingers ran over the white gauze, then moved to the bandage on his arm. "She said it was a car crash. Why'd you swerve off the road?"

"There was a deer...and another car coming. I don't remember it very well."

"Have you seen your dad? Is he as hurt as you are?" The words flowed so quickly from the young girl's mouth. I had been standing in the doorway watching the two interact when I was distracted by Galadriel and Bard speaking behind me. 

"...and that was rejected," Bard was saying.

"How awful! Are they going to try again?" Galadriel's voice was filled with concern.

"He won't let them." But this I already knew, and it was hard to hear, so I turned my attention back to the two children in the room. Tauriel had now laid down beside Legolas and they were both watching the TV. I didn't know if they knew it, but Legolas's arm was around Tauriel and she was laying against his shoulder. They made a very cute and innocent picture. I knew that Legolas knew how much Tauriel wanted him to get better and how much she missed him. The world would be simpler if we could act like nine year-olds more often...because I wasn't sure if Thranduil knew that I felt the same way about him. 

 

 

"Has he shown them to you?" I asked, looking over at Bard as we stood waiting to sign Legolas's release papers. 

"No. He didn't let me be in the room when the bandages were removed, either. I only saw his face when he was still asleep after his first surgery." Bard took the pen that the nurse offered him and scribbled his name across the line. "So you're not alone, but don't worry about it. He's just not ready." He slid the pen towards me and I wrote my name under his. "Are we good to go?" Bard asked the nurse behind the desk. 

"Yes, his father has already signed, so you are all good to take him home."

"Thank you." Bard turned and started to walk back towards the elevator when I stopped him.

"Wait, shouldn't we figure this out before we pick up Legolas? Where is he going to stay? Your place, my place...his place?"

"Well I was thinking he could stay at his place if he wanted to, but if not, he can decide where he wants to stay."

"If you think that's wise..."

"He should stay where he'll be happiest." Well I guess...but why do I have the feeling that this is going to turn into a contest, then? Then we were upstairs gathering Legolas's things and Bard put the question to him, "Where do you want to stay?" It sounded as if he was asking, 'okay, who do you love more?' It wasn't that way, but it sure felt that way. Thankfully, Legolas had enough sense to say that he wanted to stay at his place, at least for now. That was the easiest solution. Bard had already said his goodbyes to Thranduil, making sure he was able to do it alone, so I was left the task of taking Legolas to say goodbye to his father while Bard carried Legolas's stuff out to the car. I was happy with that arrangement. Legolas had been to see his dad once already, but the visit had been cut short by the doctor checking in. I put my hand on Legolas's shoulder as we walked down the hall, unsure if he was nervous or excited. I was nervous, but then I always was when I visited Thranduil. Legolas had his left arm in a sling, but aside from that and a small bandage on his forehead, he was fairly recovered. The burns on his chest and shoulder were still visible on his skin, but were healing well. The doctors had prescribed him an anti-biotic and said that he should take it very easy for the next few weeks, but that was it. Then we entered the room of his dad, someone who was still looking at weeks of hospital care then months of recovery at home. 

"Dad!" Legolas left my side and ran over to Thranduil's bedside, taking the hand that Thranduil offered him. 

"Are you all ready to go then?" Legolas nodded in response and Thranduil smiled at him, then reached up and ran his fingers over his son's bandage. "How are you feeling?"

"It only hurts a little now."

"Good. I'm sure Lora will make sure you take your medicine and you listen to her, do what she tells you to."

"I will. When are you coming home?"

"A few more weeks." Thranduil squeezed the little boy's hand, smiling again at him. "We'll both be in good hands, though. And you can come visit me if you want to." Legolas nodded again. 

"I will. Lora will take me."

"Good." Thranduil gave a short nod, his eyes moving to my face, then returning to his son. "Well you better get going. Don't keep Bard waiting. I'll see you soon, Legolas."

"Bye, dad." Legolas took a step back and Thranduil turned to me. Legolas was letting us say our goodbyes too. That was sweet. I stepped forward and took Thranduil's hand, sinking down onto the edge of his bed. 

"I can stay with you, if you want me to. Bard can take Legolas," I spoke quietly. Thranduil shook his head.

"No, you go with him. I want you to take care of him."

"Alright, I'll do my best." I gave him the best smile I could muster. "I'll come back and see you tomorrow."

"You know I always love to see you." He squeezed my hand and I smiled again - this time it was more real. "You should go." He slowly let go of my hand and I stood back up. "Goodbye, Lora."

"Goodbye, Thranduil."

 

If going back into the Sylvan's apartment was weird for me, I couldn't imagine how weird it was for Legolas. We walked into an empty apartment that filled me with a lot of memories. You know how in the movies, when a character walks into a building that meant a lot to them, they'll see ghost versions of people from their past walking through the house or re-enacting scenes from their memories? That's almost how I felt. I could see Thranduil washing dishes in the kitchen, then I heard his frustrated sigh along with the crash in the sink when I told him that Bard had spent the night. I could see him sitting at the table typing away on his computer, then glancing up and giving me a big smile as I fixed lunch. Was it creepy? Yes. I needed to get out of my own head. "Hey Legolas, what do you want for dinner? I can make you something home-cooked if you want, or we can get some take out...what sounds good?"

"Pizza."

"How did I know that's what you were going to say?" I sent Bard a knowing smile and he returned it before taking out his phone to place the order. Legolas sat down on the couch, curling up and looking at the room that surrounded him. I walked over and sank onto the couch next to him. "You doing okay?"

"I want my dad to come home."

"I know..." I do too. "But we're gonna take care of you and we can go see him again soon."

"He's hurt really bad, isn't he?" Well I didn't want to answer that question, but I loved Legolas too much to lie to him.

"Yes, honey, he's really hurt right now, but he's getting better."

"He's not gonna look the same either, is he?" Every question sent another sharp pain through my chest. I didn't want to talk like this. I didn't want to have this conversation, not with Legolas. He was too young for this to happen to his only family. I wrapped my arm around him and he laid against my side as I leaned against the back of the couch. 

"No...he's not." There was a long pause, then Legolas finally spoke, just as Bard stepped into the doorway. 

"That's okay...does he know that's okay?" My eyes went to Bard, but he wouldn't meet them. 

"I don't think he does right now, sweetie, but we can show him that it's okay. We just have to show him how much we care about him no matter what he looks like."

"I love him more than he knows, but sometimes it gets hard to show him."

"He knows you love him," I said softly as I began to run my fingers through his golden hair. "He knows we all do." And as those last words left my mouth, Bard's eyes finally met mine. I meant what I had just acknowledged. We did all love him, but I wasn't sure that he knew that. He knew that Legolas loved him and needed him, he knew that Bard loved him more than anyone else in the world, but he didn't know that I did. And I couldn't tell him...not now. He would think it was out of pity or just because he was hurt...and it wasn't. I loved him because he was kind. I loved him because he was good. And one day he would believe that.

 

We took a vote. Three yays, zero nays. Then we pulled out the sleeping bags and all curled up on the living room floor. I don't think any of us wanted to be alone that night. Legolas fell asleep first and I opened my eyes to find Bard moving his sleeping bag from Legolas's other side over to next to me. He settled down on the floor and I rolled over to face him. He exhaled, then gave me a look that reminded me how sad and hurt we all were. "We're gonna get through this." I held out my hand and Bard took it, squeezing my fingers gently. "I promise."

 

When I woke up again, the sleeping bag across from me was empty. Legolas was still sleeping softly on my other side, but Bard was gone. I quietly moved into a sitting position and saw Bard tip-toeing through the kitchen with a box in one hand and a bag in the other. His coming back into the apartment must have been what woke me up. I quickly got up and joined him. "What are you doing?" I whispered. 

"I had to get a few things." He replied, placing the box in front of me. I carefully opened it and my breath caught in my throat. 

"Oh no...why didn't you fucking tell me?" Inside the box was a cake...and it said, 'Happy 10th Birthday, Legolas!'

"I thought you knew if I'm honest, and I only know because my phone reminded me when I got up." Bard pulled a card out of the bag and began writing in it. 

"We are the worst," I had to let out a laugh, then slapped my hand over my mouth. "What else did you get?" I began to whisper again.

"Just a few candles, some more junk food for the kid, and I got a present."

"Please say that it can be from me too." Bard held up the card he had been working on and I read, 'Love, Bard and Lora'. "Thank you so much."

"I knew you didn't have time to get him a present, whether or not you knew it was his birthday."

"What did you get him?"

"That new Batman game he wanted...and another Star Wars model."

"Perfect. I'll make a good breakfast." I pulled an elastic band off of my wrist and began to pull my hair back into a pony-tale. 

"Good. Tauriel's coming over for dinner. I thought we'd go see his dad for lunch."

"That works. Thank you." I put as much gratitude as I could into those words. I was mortified that I didn't know the kid's birthday and Bard had gone to a lot of trouble to get things ready. He smiled then leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"You're welcome. Now I'm gonna go take a quick shower before he wakes up."


	22. The Sugar Coma Pancakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of these days I'm going to write a whole, long, emotional letter to you guys because you guys can't know how much you all mean to me. It means the world to me that you read my story and take the time to comment on it or press the kudos button. You all brighten my day so much...and right now in my life...I'm in a very lonely place. I don't have many people around, so getting those comments and encouragements from you guys are just...they mean so much. Thank you, thank you guys so much <3\. I love you all <3\.   
> Whew, that was an emotional letter.   
> Now, I do have to give you a heads-up about this weekend. I'm going to be judging at a speech and debate tournament (woot! woot!) so I am going to be busy. I'm going to try to give you guys a chapter at least every other day, but if you go a little longer without a chapter, that is why. I'm gonna try really hard to keep writing, though. Thanks!

It wasn't until I had gotten out all the ingredients that I thought went into pancakes and searched for fifteen minutes, that I realized I hadn't one clue where Thranduil kept his cookbooks. Come to think of it, I had never seen Thranduil use a cookbook. Ugh! I could cook, but I couldn't make random things from scratch. I had to give up and pull up the recipe on my rapidly dying phone. I quickly scribbled down the amounts of each ingredient that was required, finishing just as my screen went dark. I had left my charger upstairs so...that was that. I began to dump the ingredients into the bowl then stir them all together. Then I wondered if Thranduil had a griddle...well I could do the in a frying pan just as well. In the end, I got extremely large pancakes that were loaded with so many chocolate chips, you'd probably go into a sugar coma if you ate more than one. In other words - my kind of pancakes. Bard came out about half-way through and cut up some fruit to go with them. Ha! Try all you could, but this would not be a healthy breakfast. Legolas woke up and ambled into the kitchen looking very sleepy as I was pouring the last of the batter into the pan. "Morning, birthday boy!" I sent him a grin, to which he replied with a confused face before it dawned on him exactly what day it was. Then he got excited.

"Did you make chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Nope, I made pancake chocolate chips." Cause they're mostly chocolate. Get it?

"Here, have just a little bit of fruit first," Bard advised, scooping some strawberries onto the little boy's plate. Legolas shoved them down his throat quickly then dug into the pancakes. 

"And for you," I said with a smile as I slid a plate towards Bard.

"Thank you." He sent me a grin, then we climbed onto the stools beside Legolas and began eating. 

"Can Tauriel come over today?" Legolas was speaking with a mouth full of chocolate. 

"For dinner," Bard informed the messy child. "Do you want to go see your dad for lunch?" In response, Legolas nodded rapidly. The sugar was probably starting to kick in. 

"Did you get a cake?"

"Yes," Bard smiled. "I thought we'd have it with Tauriel tonight."

"Can we bring my dad a piece?"

"Sure...are you sure your dad would want to eat something so unhealthy?" I had to laugh at that...cause it was true. Mr. Healthy over there...

"I'll share it with him," Legolas told us happily. 

"Then we'll bring some." And that was that.

"Can we open my presents with him, too?"

"If you want," Bard nodded. He then turned to me and gave me a slightly alarmed look. I gave him my confused face and he leaned over and whispered, "I should have written the card from Thranduil too." Oh yeah. That might have been nice. I'm definitely blaming that on you if it comes up.

 

It turned out that worrying about a present from Thranduil was unnecessary. We reached the hospital right before lunch time with the best lunch I could make in a few hours and a few slices of cake. I had made roasted potatoes and vegetables along with chicken in a cream sauce. I was cooking it for Thranduil, not Legolas. Legolas could eat anything, Thranduil on the other hand...was probably dying just from having to eat the hospital's food. He had never complained about it, but I could only imagine what he went through at meal times. Bard grabbed a bottle of wine just before heading out the door and that was a fabulous idea. So we were all sitting around Thranduil's bed eating the delicious food that yours truly had made. Thranduil laughed and kissed the little boy's forehead when Legolas mentioned that he had brought him some cake. I knew he was happy that Legolas had wanted to do that for him. Then Bard pulled out the present from us at Legolas's request and we both anxiously turned to look at Thranduil. Legolas ignored us and tore into the present, sending up shouts of excitement and gratitude. Thranduil's face lit up at Legolas's happy exclamations. "Dad, look!" Legolas ran to his father's side to show him his new video game and model. 

"Good thing I didn't get you that game," Thranduil smiled. "I have something for you at home. Bard and Lora can find it for you when you get back."

"What is it?" Legolas's eyes had widened at his dad's announcement. 

"You'll see." I glanced over at Bard who was giving me a sigh of relief. We should have known that Thranduil had everything covered. And when we found the new game system hidden under Thranduil's bed, we realized that he had had it more than covered.

 

It was when we were getting ready to go that Thranduil asked if I would stay behind for a moment. Bard's eyes immediately went to mine, but he didn't raise any vocal objections. "Come on Legolas," he began to usher the boy towards the door. 

"Bye, dad!" Legolas gave his father a cheerful wave then headed out with Bard close behind him. I sank back into my seat by the bed and looked at Thranduil. If I compared his look now to how he had looked the first day I'd seen him, it was worlds apart. His left half of his face was still hidden by bandages, but his right half had regained so much of its healthy color and he was looking more like himself. The bandages had been removed from his chest, revealing where the skin had been grafted over his burns. The new skin was blending in well and you could only tell if you knew. The same went for his neck, only, because the burns had been deeper, the skin graft was more obvious. His left arm was still encased in a cast, but it was not as dramatic looking as it had looked weeks earlier. I wanted to reach out and intertwine my fingers with his, but the excuse of him being so close to death's door was no longer there. So I just folded my hands together and looked at him. 

"I want to hire you again to look after Legolas."

"You don't have to do that, you know I would-"

"Please," Thranduil put his hand up briefly before letting it drop again. "Bard can't keep putting off work and Legolas is better with you. So, if you haven't found employment elsewhere, I want you to work for me again."

"I don't want to take your money, Thranduil. Not for something I would do anyways."

"Please don't make me accept your kindness with no compensation." He was being serious. 

"If...If it makes you feel better."

"It will. When I am able to leave the hospital, I will hire a live-in nurse or some other help to assist me in my recovery and your services will no longer be needed. I just need you until then."

"I will assist you in your recovery, Thranduil."

"No, Lora, I won't let you do that."

"You can pay me."

"No!" The word came out loudly, then he drew in his breath and exhaled slowly. "I will not put you in that position nor do I wish you to aid me in my recovery."

"But don't you see?" My words were pleading, but quiet, as I reached out and took his hand in mine. Excuses be damned. "I won't let anyone else be there more than me." He turned to look at me and I thought I saw tears forming in his eye. It was hard for him, I knew it was, but there was no way I wasn't going to get that position. I couldn't stand by and watch someone else help him when I could. 

"Your life's purpose is not to help me, Lora."

"It is right now." I took a deep breath then I squeezed his hand. I then stood, taking a step away from the bed. "I'll come see you tomorrow. Call me if you need anything." Then I left before he could say anything else. If I stayed, I was afraid that I would start crying, and once I started crying, I wouldn't stop. So I just took the steps down to the first floor, wiping away the stray tears that rolled down my cheeks. Bard looked at me as I climbed into the car and it was the kind of look that made you think you'd never be friends with someone again. But it was an emotional day, we were all emotional. I would never make his love for Thranduil seem unimportant, because it wasn't. He was there first, but I fully intended to be there last.

 

A few days later, Legolas had to start physical therapy for his arm. Tauriel had begged to come along, probably because it meant she could leave school early, but I had agreed, so she was sitting quietly inside the room while Legolas went through his therapy. I was pacing just outside the door. The past few days had been physically and emotionally draining. I felt tired in every sense of the word. Bard had gone back to work, leaving me with Legolas. While that didn't sound difficult, it was hard not to have Bard's extra support all the time. And now that he wasn't with me when I took Legolas to see Thranduil, it was even harder. I cried on every drive home. If I was honest, I needed a break, but I would never take one. I finally sank into one of the comfy chairs in the waiting area and buried my face in my hands. If I was in a movie, some sad music, maybe by Coldplay or Fun. would start playing. This was hard. This was really hard. And I knew that it would get harder before it got easier, especially once Thranduil got home. I hadn't heard anything definite on the subject, but I knew that Thranduil had to be blind in his left eye now. How was I supposed to help someone who was half blind? How was I capable of that? And how could I show him that he was just as good, inside and out, now, as he was then? "Lora?" The sad music would abruptly stop as I looked up and noticed the handsome young man who called my name.

"I'm sorry, are you talking to me?"

"Yes," he was smiling a little too much for my current mood. "I'm Theodred, Eowyn and Eomer's cousin. We met at your graduation."

"Oh, yes," I stood up and forced myself to smile at the man I still only vaguely remembered. Then he wanted to shake hands, so I did that. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you doing?" After he answered my question, I noticed that he was wearing a shirt with the name of the therapy place on it. He must work here. 

"I'm...I'm okay. Do you work here?" Here's a tip, if you don't want to answer the 'how are you?' question, give a quick answer then ask another question right after it. They'll skip right over your answer and reply to your question. Works every time. 

"Yes, I've been working here for a few months." See? Now I just had to hope that my eyes weren't red or anything. 

"Nice." And now was right about when I ran out of things to say. "I'm just here taking my friend's kid to therapy." That's it. I was out. Your turn, buddy. 

"Ahh, I see. Do you live around here?"

"We're about an hour drive away." And what a long drive it was. 

"Oh okay, not too bad." Did you not hear my inner monologue? It was bad. It was long. And side-note, you're boring me. "Well it was nice seeing you, I'm sure we'll see each other a lot more. See you later, Lora."

"You too. Bye, Theodred." Then we did the awkward hug thing and he walked away. He wasn't the most amusing of guys, but he did do one thing right. He distracted me from my own mind. A+ for that Theodred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just add a new character from LOTR? Yes I did. And am I going to have him pop up every once in a while just cause I want him to? Yes I am. Am I going to make the story a little more complicated for myself by doing so? Of course! Well...here goes nothing.


	23. The Right Push

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this has taken so long to put up, guys! My weekend was far busier than I thought it would be and I had no time to write. But here you go! I especially like the end of this chapter :).   
> Also, minor note, but if any of you guys are writers and have any Thranduil or Loki stories you'd like me to read, please let me know! I'd be so happy to check out your stuff since you took the time to check out mine :). And just so you know, I don't read explicit stories.  
> Thanks! :D

The weeks of Thranduil being in the hospital had turned to months. He was getting more and more irritated at his situation and it was harder to watch. Every time we visited, he'd plaster a smile on his face for his son and engage in whatever exciting conversation he could, but the moment Legolas was gone, the smile would disappear and I watched the anger boil under his skin. I was glad he didn't put on a happy face for me. I got to see how he was really feeling. He now had nothing but negative comments to say about the staff and his care at the hospital. He was upset, and I wanted nothing more than to make him happy again.

 

"Can't we just take him home?" I was trying not to beg Dr. Sindarin, but I would if I had to. 

"It's better for him to stay here until he is strong enough to begin physical therapy. His wounds are unable to sustain any kind of impact and he could hurt himself if he goes home."

"We'll be very careful, I just...I need to take him home."

"Well," The doctor sighed. "We can't hold him against his will. So if he insists on going home, he can go, but I'm still advising against it. Just make sure that you get him into physical therapy. They should be able to have someone come to his home and work with him."

"I will. Thank you!" I pushed the door open to Thranduil's room and stepped inside. I hadn't gotten good news, but it wasn't all bad. Thranduil was sitting in the wheelchair that they had brought in last week and he was flipping through a magazine, looking very bored. They had helped him dress so he was wearing jeans and one of those white sleeveless undershirts so his bandaged arm wouldn't have to be moved too much. Legolas and Tauriel had been in earlier, then went home with Bard, but not before Tauriel had asked if she could braid Thranduil's hair. He had refused, but didn't put up a fight when she began anyways. So now, a small French braid hung down his back, over the rest of his golden hair. He was actually looking rather normal now and I stood by the door for a moment, enjoying my view. 

"You going to stand there forever or tell me what the doctor said?" Thranduil's voice sounded as if he had a million things he'd rather be doing and his eyes continued to scan the pages before him. 

"He said that he doesn't think it's best if you go home..." I walked towards him and sank down onto the newly-made bed. "But he can't keep you here against your will."

"Things won't be better at home, Lora." He was still not looking at me, so my hand shot out and I grabbed the magazine, pulling it away from him. 

"Maybe you won't be so grumpy at home."

"Grumpy? You try being stuck in one room for months. Let's see how happy you'll be." He was leaning towards me in an effort to appear tougher, but I refused to be threatened. 

"Don't talk to me like that," I said firmly. "You should come home and be closer to your son."

"Don't mention Legolas to me, Lora," he hissed. "You don't know what it's-"

"What it's like? Well do you know what it's like to take care of a little boy who burned in a car all by yourself and try to be happy for him all day every day and even take him to see his father who's more severely hurt in every way and sit there and hold the hand of that damaged man and try to show him how much you still..." My words cut off sharply even though I didn't mean them to. I was going to say that I loved him...it almost slipped out. 

"Damaged." Thranduil stared at me, his eyes filled with pain...and disbelief. 

"You know I didn't mean it like that...I meant it like your body was damaged, because it is...you know I didn't mean anything else..." I was babbling now. I had been trying to draw him out of his self-pity and yes, I was even trying to tell him I loved him, but because of that one word...he was going to ignore all of that. One word was all he needed. "Thranduil, I'm sorry, it's not what I meant."

"But you still said it." He put his hands on the wheels of his chair and moved backwards, then around to the other side of the bed. 

"Your body is damaged, Thranduil."

"I think you know that more of me is damaged than that." I was standing now and he was doing his best not to look at me again. Then I spoke slowly, enunciating every word.

"No it fucking isn't." His eyes darted up to mine and I looked steadily back at him. "So you can sit there and feel mad and sorry for yourself, Thranduil Sylvan, but that's not helping you get better. Now tomorrow morning I'm going to come and I'm going to take you home, so you better be ready to sign those papers or I'll drag you out by your fucking blonde hair." Then I left him sitting there in his wheelchair and practically slammed the door behind me. I didn't mean to say half of what I said in there, but hopefully it would all turn out for good. We could hope...I did just threaten to drag a burn victim out of a hospital by his hair. Damn it.

 

The next morning I had to tell Legolas. I poured him some cereal then sat down across the table from him. "How does your arm feel today?" I folded my own arms on the table in front of me and watched him shove a spoonful of Frosted Flakes into his mouth. 

"Good," he mumbled, not waiting to chew first. 

"We have therapy again today." I said simply, rubbing my hands up my arms. He nodded at the information. "Then I was thinking we'd go see your dad."

"Okay." Legolas nodded again. 

"And...maybe we'd take your dad home with us."

"What?" That got his attention and his wide blue eyes looked up at me. 

"I talked to him about it yesterday. I'm going to take him home today. I think that would help him."

"I thought the doctor said he had to stay another week?"

"Well we're not going to wait that long. I think your dad will do better at home. Is that okay if we bring him home?"

"Yes." Legolas said the word quietly, but I could hear the excitement behind it. He wanted his dad home. What little boy wouldn't? And I wanted Thranduil home. I just wanted him to be better.

 

Through the window in the door, I saw Legolas's therapist working with him. Legolas now only wore a removable cast that was really just to protect the skin, and it had been taken off at the beginning of the appointment. The therapist asked Legolas to bend his fingers into a fist, and Legolas could now do that with no pain. He could also stretch his arm all the way out to the side and back a little farther. He flexed his elbow and that's the only time he winced, but only a little. The improvement was definitely noticeable. There were still large patches of red skin noticeable on Legolas's arm, but that was all. But he was better. That's what mattered. As I stood looking in the window, Theodred, who was walking by, decided to stop and talk to me. "How's he been?" He motioned towards the boy with his blond hair in a pony-tale sitting on a bench inside the room. 

"He's doing so much better," I smiled at the young nurse beside me. "There's definitely not as much pain."

"How about his dad?" Theodred and I had spoken quite a bit during these therapy sessions, so he knew about Thranduil and the accident. 

"Physically he's improving..."

"Well it's not uncommon for burn victims to sustain emotional trauma..."

"Self-pity is more like it," I told Theodred. "I am bringing him home today, though. I think it will help him to be home."

"That's exciting," Theodred smiled with his words. "I bet Legolas is happy."

"He is...and so am I." The way that I spoke about him so often, Theodred couldn't be in any doubt about my feelings for Thranduil. "I actually wanted to ask you about getting therapy set up for him. Would you guys come to his home?"

"Oh yes, absolutely. Just have his doctor give you a referral, just like they did for Legolas, and we'll get that set up. Would you like to move Legolas's home as well?"

"That might be nice...I'll get back to you on that." Something told me I may need Legolas's therapy as my break from taking care of his dad. 

"Well let me know how it all goes." Theodred gently touched my arm then walked away, leaving me to look back into the room where the therapist and Legolas were tossing a ball back and forth and trying to only catch it with one hand. There was a lot of laughing going on, and that made me smile. I liked seeing him smile. My phone went off in my pocket and I pulled it out to read, 'You're taking Thranduil home?' It was a text from Bard. That was frustrating. I didn't want to have to explain it to him. I texted him back with a simple 'yes', and he decided to respond by calling me. 

"What?" Yes, that's how I answer my phone when Bard calls me. 

"You didn't think about discussing it with me first?"

"Oh are you going to quit work and stay home to take care of him?" Snarky Lora always decided to come out when I talked to Bard. 

"Um, no..."

"I didn't think so, so it concerns me, not you. Good talk. Bye."

"Wait! Why are you taking him home?"

"Did you see him today?"

"Yes. He told me you were insisting on taking him home against the doctor's orders."

"Bard, he's doing terribly in there. He's angry and frustrated and can't stop feeling sorry for himself. I'm taking him home in an effort to cheer him up. The doctor is letting me get him into physical therapy, so we should start seeing real progress in his recuperation. Don't fight me on this."

"Not fighting with you, just asking."

"Well then don't ask me in that tone. I'm taking him home."

"I got it."

"Great. Bye." Then I hung up. That was that. I was glad that Bard was there for him and all, but I thought he was more there for himself then he was for Thranduil. Bard cared about his own feelings just a little too much. I cared about Thranduil's recovery, so he was coming home.

 

"You ready?" Those were the words I started with when stepping into Thranduil's room. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, his hair pulled up in a messy bun, wearing another sleeveless undershirt and a pair of maroon pants. When his eyes met mine, I realized that he looked...better. He didn't look angry today. There was still a bandage on his arm and another on his face, but he looked like he was actually doing okay. Then I realized that I was smiling at that and hoped I wasn't coming off as a creep. 

"I'm ready," he said calmly before reaching out and pulling his wheelchair closer to the bed. He then carefully pulled himself from the bed into the wheelchair, then turned it towards me. 

"Legolas is...in the car waiting for us." I was suddenly having trouble...forming...words. He gave a short nod then looked over towards his suitcase which was already packed and sitting by the door. "Oh yes, I'll grab this." I picked it up and held the handle with both hands. "Alright, let's get you checked out...I mean sign your papers, not check you out...I mean...let's go." Then I quickly walked out of the room so I didn't say anything else that was completely stupid. Oh gosh.

 

The papers were signed, the referral was requested, the thank-yous were given...and he was coming home. Legolas ran to meet us in the parking lot and I was tempted to remind him not to run in parking lots, but he was hugging his dad, so I didn't. Thranduil informed me that I'd have to help him stand for a moment so he could climb into the car, so I did, and he grabbed my arm tightly so he could move from the wheelchair into the front seat. Then the wheelchair was stowed, the doors were closed, and we were off. I didn't say much on the ride back to his house...neither did he. Legolas did all the talking for us. And I think that it was then that it hit me how scared I had been about my decision. I'd been so adamant with Bard about bringing him home, but really I'd been scared to death if it was right...because if it was the wrong decision, it would make him worse, not better. But I think he must have realized sometime between yesterday and today that it was what he really needed to do. And that meant I had given him the right push. That meant I had helped him. And that made me happy. Because maybe I could do this with him. It was terrifying and incredibly hard...but maybe I could help him recover. I glanced over at him and he looked back, then smiled, causing me to blush awkwardly and turn back to the road. And...just maybe...he wanted me to help him.


	24. The Poetic Relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My life has suddenly become very busy! So I'm sorry for the less frequent updates, but they are coming! And things are going to be happening *wink-wink*.   
> Some cool news, for those of you who care to know - you will now be reading the work of a performed playwright! A short play that I wrote is being performed at a community college this weekend so...that's really awesome :D. I got to go to the first rehearsal this evening and it was AMAZING. Nothing can quite compare to seeing your own work acted out in front of you :'). So yeah, I wanted to share that with you guys :) :).

  
I spent a very restless night on the couch. When I finally pulled myself off of the cushions, I saw that it had snowed during the past ten hours. A thin blanket of white now covered everything outside. I sat by the window for a long time, my eyes drinking in the beauty. It was the first time it had snowed this year. Someone who could put words together better than I could and who actually had a brain this early in the morning, could probably make up some poetic relationship between the first snow and the first morning with Thranduil. I just rubbed my hands over my face and went to find some coffee. It was when I opened the fridge and pulled out my almond joy creamer that I realized how full of junk the refrigerator was. Darn it. Thranduil wouldn't like this. Not that he'd be cooking, and therefore needing to open it, any time soon. But I still felt like he knew...somehow. I stirred my coffee, took a sip of the goodness, then, and only then, did I turn to look at the clock. It was just after 7:00 AM. Shoot. Nobody would be up for another hour at least. I sighed and went back over to the couch, sinking down onto it and picking up my phone. At least the Kim K Hollywood game would keep me entertained for a little while.

 

I had to take Legolas to Therapy in the afternoon and it was actually harder than I thought it would be to leave Thranduil. I asked if he wanted to come along, but he was very happy to not have to go down the stairs to the parking lot. "Okay," I said slowly. "Are you going to be alright? We won't be gone for that long...but it's a long drive."

"I'll be fine." Thranduil said calmly. "I'm going to call my publicist then get some work done."

"Okay, if you're sure. I'll ask them about when we can start your therapy." Then I was closing the door after me and feeling very nervous for the maybe-not-so-capable adult I had just left alone. "Legolas, do you think he'll be alright?" Why I was asking a nine year-old, I didn't know.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Come on, let's go!" And he was bounding down the stairs at full speed while I, the old lady, followed at a much slower pace. I guess Thranduil would be alright for a few hours, wouldn't he? Wouldn't he? Well I guess I didn't expect to regret that decision. But I did.

 

But first there was therapy. I found myself talking to Theodred earlier on in the appointment than I usually did. He asked about the Sylvans, then he asked how I was doing. "Me? I didn't get burned alive."

"But two people you're very close to did...how are you doing with that?"

"I'm...I'm better I think." I have a half-hearted shrug. "I don't get as overwhelmed now. But Thranduil's home so...that may change." I gave him a smile and I meant it. 

"I'm glad to hear it. You shouldn't over-work yourself."

"It's not work if it's helping people you love get better." 

"I guess you're right." It was his turn to smile. "But if you ever need some time off...you can call me."

"Thank you, Theodred." I smiled again because I really was thankful. I saw him as a good friend and I knew that he knew that. And who knows, maybe one day I'd take him up on that offer. "And I meant to ask you about Thranduil's therapy."

"Oh yes, we can start that at the end of the week if that sounds good."

"Yes, that would work fine."

"I actually requested the job for myself...if that's okay with you." He gave me a kind of sneaky smile, making me laugh. 

"Why, you wanna find out who this mysterious Thranduil is who I can't shut up about?"

"Something like that." He grinned. "He's obviously someone special."

"He is...he's very special." That sounded so dorky and awkward...but he was. He was special. And I loved him. 

"Maybe I'll try to even nudge him in your direction, if you'd like me to."

"No, don't do anything like that!" I laughed. 

"You know...slow dancing can be very therapeutic for some people. I could...suggest he give it a try with you."

"No, that's awkward!" I shoved him playfully and he laughed with me. 

"No, you're right," he nodded. "I'm sure he already knows how lucky he is to have you. There's no doubt he cares for you just as much as you do for him."

"Maybe..." I shrugged again, and turned to look into Legolas's therapy room. 

"But..." he started slowly. "That's your business, not mine. And I promise not to over-step...well 'promise' maybe a strong word. I'll do my best not to over-step...how's that?" 

"I'll take it." I rolled my eyes then became serious. "Thank you for wanting to take care of us."

"No problem." He clicked as he winked and stuck out a finger in my direction. "See you on Friday, Lora."

"Friday."

 

I practically ran up the stairs to the apartment, each step taking me closer to either a disaster or a perfectly normal home scene. I fumbled with shoving the key into the lock, then pushed the door open to find everything _technically_ okay. I mean...if you counted the fact that Bard was there as "okay". I'm pretty sure I gave him a look of disdain, but it was rather unintentional. "You're back." Thranduil's voice came from behind Bard and he rolled into sight. "Where's Legolas?" Who? Oh, the little scamp...I must confess that I wasn't keeping much track of him while running up the stairs...but at that moment, Legolas ran around me and into the room.

"There he is."

"How was therapy?" Thranduil asked as his son ran to his side. 

"It was good. I could hit the punching bag today without it hurting." 

"Good!" Thranduil actually sounded excited. 

"And I asked about your therapy," I told him, while my eyes were still looking at Bard, who was casually leaning against the counter. I began to pull off my coat, finally turning to the man in the wheelchair. "They're going to come on Friday."

"That's fine."

"Did you get to talk to your publisher?" I hung up my coat, then my eyes glanced back in Bard's direction. What was he doing here?

"Publicist, and yes. He's been handling everything, though he wants me to start attending events again as soon as I'm up on my feet again."

"Is that what you want?" I mean...you don't look the same. As much as I still love you, will everyone else?

"I definitely think it's for the best for people to start seeing him again." Bard decided to comment. "They can get used to his new look." Nobody asked you. 

"I haven't decided what I want to do with my career now," Thranduil interjected. Thank you, yes, you're who I want to hear from. 

"Well make sure you don't take on too much too soon." My eyes shot to Bard and narrowed, then looked back at Thranduil. I then realized that he had probably been able to see our whole inter-change and I didn't know what he thought about that.

"I guess I'd better get going," Bard said suddenly. Wow! Great idea! He said his goodbyes to Thranduil and Legolas, then headed for the door. I followed him. 

"Are you just going to start coming by again?" I asked quietly as he pulled on his coat. 

"Why, would that bother you?"

"I'd like a warning first. Why were you even here today?"

"I didn't just show up. Thranduil invited me." Then he gave me something like a smirk. Well then. He pulled on his gloves then gave me a polite smile. "Goodbye, Lora. Try to let me know if anything big happens." Then he was gone and I was glaring at the door, cause, well, he had touched it. I was incredibly annoyed with Bard. I think as my love for Thranduil grew, so did my dislike for Bard. Part of it may be jealousy, but part of it was because I saw how true my love for Thranduil was, while I didn't think Bard's was. But whether I liked it or not, he was still a big part of Thranduil's life. And I had to be okay with that right now. But...why did Thranduil invite him over? At that thought, a shiver ran down my spine. I didn't like that thought. Not one bit. 


	25. The Last Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for your continued support and encouragement. You all mean the world to me <3  
> And you all should have a party with this chapter - No Bard, Legolas (and a teeny bit of Tauriel), some Thranduil/Lora, AND Theodred being awesome. So everyone be happy! Except...there's also sadness...cause...yeah.

I still hadn't seen his face.

I felt like that would be the last piece that we needed. That moment when he pulled off the bandage, or turned around from looking at himself in the mirror, and showed me what he really looked like. That was symbolic too, like when you were ready to get serious with someone and the last step was to see each other naked...but I didn't need to see him naked...I just needed to see his face. I had started this really stupid routine for myself. It was really dumb, but somehow it kept me sane when I saw him day after day. What I did was every morning after I had seen him for the first time, I'd go and write somewhere, 'I love Thranduil'. And I know that's really stupid, but somehow it was like me saying it without him having to hear it and take it the wrong way. If I wrote it on a piece of paper, I'd tear it up immediately and throw it into the trash. If I wrote it on my hand, I'd write lightly and wash it off right after. Sometimes I'd type it out on a note in my phone...and sometimes I'd delete that too. I once wrote it on the steamed up bathroom mirror. I just had to get it out of my system and now...I'd just become so accustomed to seeing the words 'love' and 'Thranduil' in the same sentence. And I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. Then one day I was caught writing it, and not by Thranduil...but by his son. 

"Whatcha drawing?" Legolas bounced onto the couch next to me as I wrote the three words into a picture I was drawing. 

"Um," I stuttered for a moment as I quickly shaded in the words with my pencil. "Not much." I knew I wasn't fast enough. And unfortunately, in our advanced age, ten year-olds could read. When he didn't say anything else, I looked over at him and he was just smiling. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"Well shut that smile up...off of your face...you know what I mean." I sighed in frustration, but Legolas did not seem to get the message and continued to smile. "I'm serious." I narrowed my eyes at him. "You better not say anything."

"I won't say anything...if you play Mario Kart with me." His smile had turned into a big grin and I gritted my teeth. He knew that was my least favorite game to play with him. 

"Fine."

"Great, I'll set it up. We're playing Rainbow Road." If you were allowed to swear at a child, I would have done that now. Fortunately, I just kept my mouth shut and sat down on the floor in front of the TV. I'm such a good person that sometimes I surprise myself. But deep down I don't think that I minded that Legolas saw what I had written. It was true after all, and the sneaky child had suspected as much for months. And he wouldn't say anything. I knew he wouldn't. I guess he wasn't such a bad kid after all. Then he turned on the game system and all those 'feel-good' emotions I had towards him evaporated.

 

Friday came a little bit too soon. I didn't know why, but I felt like I needed to prepare before having Theodred come over and see Thranduil. It wasn't like I had to actually do anything...I just had to mentally prepare myself. As I said, I didn't know why. But before I felt sufficiently prepared, he was knocking on the door. I let him in and brought him to where Thranduil was sitting in his room. "Thranduil, this is Theodred."

"Hello, Mr. Sylvan." Theodred stuck out his hand and for a moment, Thranduil almost looked like shaking hands with Theodred would be beneath him. But then he shook Theodred's hand briefly and I could let out the air I'd been holding in for the past few moments. "It's a pleasure to be working with you. I've heard so much about you." Theodred gave me a sly look and I wanted to glare back. Not the time, Theodred. We don't want to make me look any creepier than I already do. 

"Do you know how many weeks of therapy I will require?" Thranduil asked in a dry tone. 

"Well, sir, I won't know until we get started. Would you like to do the exercises in here?"

"Yes." Thranduil's eyes went to me and I knew that was my signal to leave. 

"Let me know if you need anything." Then I backed out the door and closed it behind me. I could only hope that things would go well in there and nobody would end up dead. I don't know why my brain felt that was an issue...but it did.

 

"How did it go?" I think I was a little too eager as I asked the nurse who had just emerged from Thranduil's room. 

"It went well." Theodred smiled, but somehow I didn't believe him.

"Was he a difficult patient? I mean like...was he mean? I'm so sorry if he was, sometimes he can be that way."

"He was fine, Lora." Theodred was now laughing at me and I couldn't blame him. I sounded like an idiot. "I got to see where he's at and we made some progress today."

"Did you get to see his..." I made a vague motion towards my face. I must have sounded nervous, because Theodred smiled before speaking calmly. 

"I've seen worse."

"You have?" I probably sounded surprised...cause I was. 

"Yes. He won't believe it if you tell him, but he's one of the lucky ones. He survived some horrible stuff, but he'll be okay. The damage is minor to some of our other patients."

"That makes me feel a lot better."

"You don't have to feel bad in any way." Theodred smiled. "Now I better head out. I'll see you next week."

 

It was working. We needed some hope in Thranduil's recovery and this was it. It wasn't long before Thranduil was walking with a cane and I wanted to cry every time he slowly walked into the kitchen just to grab a snack. Just because he was moving on his own...because he was getting better.

 

Then came the time when Theodred came out of Thranduil's room and right over to me. "You've never seen the scars?" He sounded surprised, which sounded weird to me because...I was used to it by now. 

"No, never." I spoke calmly and he looked at me for a moment before giving me a small shrug. 

"I didn't think that's what you meant when you...Well, he's going to take a shower, then he wants to see you."

"About what?" I asked suspiciously. 

"I told him that he should show you."

"You did what?" I asked loudly. But then both Tauriel and Legolas ran past me to get to the living room and I caught my breath, hoping they didn't hear me. "You did what?" I asked again, softer this time. 

"I told him that it would be good for both of you. It will help him get over his fear that he won't be accepted and it will help you finally see the whole picture."

"You told him that?"

"I did. So after he showers...you go see him." He smiled and I think I almost kissed him then. I was so happy, so thankful, but nothing came out of my mouth. I couldn't even smile. I was just stunned. I felt like I certainly wasn't ready to see him now...but when would I ever be ready? Because this was now...this was actually happening. I was going to walk in there...and see him for the first time. Shit. 

 

 

He stood there, his back to me. A white towel was wrapped around his waist. His hands were clutching the sides of the sink and his head hung down, as if he was staring at his reflection in the faucet. His blond hair was stringy, small droplets of water dripping off the ends as it hung down his back. I heard him inhale slowly, then he straightened, his back muscles smoothing out. He stared straight in front of him for a moment. Then he turned around, steadying himself by continuing to grip the sink with one of his hands. My breath caught in my throat and I almost shrank back in shock...but I stopped myself. I tilted my head and stared at the left half of his face that was no longer recognizable. The fire had eaten away all of the flesh from next to his eye down to his jaw-line. It looked as if a large fiery hand had reached out and ripped the skin from his face. Some of the muscles were now visible and other areas seemed hollowed out. His eye was glazed over and was now a white color, such contrast to the life that glowed in the other. The skin just below his eye was white and purple with scar tissue. That same color traced around the more damaged parts of his face and faded away at his neck, which now had skin grafted over the burns. The new skin below his jaw and down his shoulder had now almost blended in with his original skin color, with only a few red blotches. He didn't look the same, nobody could say that he did, but he didn't look worse. Not to me. He looked perfect. I took a step towards him and the moment I did, he took a step back, looking away. I could feel his emotional pain in this moment, and the only way it would stop would be if...I took another step forward. This time he didn't move, but he squeezed his eyes shut. I took another step, then another, then I was right in front of him. He still wasn't looking at me. With my left hand, I reached out and took his hand, threading our fingers together instantly. With my other hand, I reached up to his face. I knew the wound had to still be sensitive, so I only touched it with the very tip of my fingers. He flinched, but I didn't think it was because of the pain. I wasn't even sure if he could feel that I was touching him. At that thought, I let more of my fingers lightly touch his face. It felt smooth, almost like plastic. I heard him inhale sharply, his eyes remaining closed. Then...slowly...he began to lean into my hand. Soon my palm gently rested against the side of his face. Then he opened his eyes and look at me. I saw his fear, his pain, his uncertainty. But he didn't need to feel any of that. He would always be beautiful to me. He'd always be my tall, god-like supermodel. And fire couldn't change that. He leaned his head closer to mine and my hand moved to the back of his neck. We rested our foreheads together for a moment and I wanted to say it. I wanted to actually say that I loved him out loud. But I couldn't. I couldn't force the words past my lips, so they sat there on my tongue. I'm pretty sure I felt his head start to turn, and I would have kissed him then too...but then the door opened and Legolas burst into the room. We pulled apart, startled, to see the young boy approaching. 

"Hey, dad," he started, acting as if he hadn't seen us that close. Maybe he hadn't. "Miss Galadriel is here and wants to talk to you."

"Oh," the word shot out of Thranduil's mouth awkwardly. "I'll be right there." Legolas disappeared again, closing the door behind him, and I think that's the moment we both realized that Thranduil would probably need to put some clothes on before seeing the lady.

"I'll um..." I motioned towards the door. "Yeah." Awkward. I slipped out into the hall and closed the door behind me. I was feeling incredibly awkward, but also incredibly glowy and happy. Is this how women felt when they were pregnant? I mean, what? Never-mind. But I was happy. I was very happy. He had let me see him. For the first time, he had actually let me see him. It was almost his way of letting me know that he still loved me. And next time I'd let him know that I did too.


	26. The Abandoned Street Corner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I'm so sorry guys for how long this took! I had a busy weekend and haven't been feeling very inspired :(. I have some ideas about what is coming up, though, so don't think anything is over til it's over ;)

I stared at the little piece of paper in front of me. I was supposed to RSVP soon and I wasn't sure if I should check the box saying that I was coming alone...or the one saying I was bringing a date. Eowyn's wedding was fast approaching and I wasn't one of those people who never returned the RSVP card. I glanced towards the door and exhaled slowly. I guess I'd have to ask him...officially. How would one do that? "Hey, I know you're super nervous about showing your face in public, but how about a wedding?" I laughed at myself and looked back at the paper. I'd figure out something...because I wanted to go and I wanted him with me. 

 

 

It felt strange to get a babysitter for Legolas because...wasn't I his babysitter? But I had to drive Thranduil to his doctor's appointment, and I wasn't going to make Legolas sit through that. So I arranged for him to go home with Tauriel after school. I instructed him to do his homework before killing zombies on the xbox, but I knew he wasn't going to listen, even though Thranduil gave him the same directions. I kissed his blonde head before sending him out the door to the bus stop and I even got a smile and a parting wave. That was pretty special to me. "What time is the appointment?" Thranduil asked after the door closed behind his son. 

"Two thirty. We'll leave at two if that's okay with you."

"Yes, that's fine." He gave me a short nod then turned to walk into his office. He'd been doing that a lot recently - writing. He'd usually work most of the time Legolas was at school, leaving us little to no time to interact. I didn't know if he was avoiding something or not. I felt like he was. He also still walked around with the bandage on his face and I understood why. But I also knew that it wasn't going to get much better. The face he had now was the face he'd die with. Maybe he was trying not to admit that to himself. Showing his scars to me was one step, a giant step, but the next step was accepting them. They were now a part of him, just as much as his small limp and his blind eye. But Thranduil was a proud man and I didn't know how to get through to him that he needed to understand...he needed to understand that people wouldn't care. He knew I didn't care, but nobody else who mattered would either. And he just didn't get that. 

 

 

"You can park right there!"

"No, that's a handy-capped parking space."

"Well I'm handy-capped."

"Do you have one of those things to hang from your mirror? Cause if not, we get towed."

"...no."

"Then we keep circling. You can ask your doctor for one of those handy-capped signs when we get inside."

"That's not even how you get them."

"Oh, I'm sorry for not knowing everything about handy-capped signs, Thranduil." We had been circling for a good fifteen minutes now and were both annoyed. Unfortunately, people take it out on each other when they're annoyed. And who cared about handy-capped signs anyways. 

"Why don't you just go park along the street?"

"I'm not sure if that's legal either."

"If there are other people parked there, you can do it too."

"If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?" 

"Lora..." He growled. 

"Okay, street it is. Fine. If we get towed, you're paying," I said angrily. We parked, got out of the car, and slammed our doors. A great start to an outing with the man you love, let me tell you. We walked into the doctor's office, signed in, then had to wait a lovely hour before they would see him. The day was getting better by the minute. We sat there mostly in silence, then both of us got so bored that we had to make up and talk about something. The subject of conversation ended up being the commercials on the small TV that was playing across the room. 

"Do you think that Geico really gets more costumers from running all their commercials or do they just do them for fun?" I asked thoughtfully. "Cause as the commercials say, everyone already knows that you can save 15% or more with them."

"Commercials cost a lot to make. I doubt they'd run them if they weren't getting customers from them."

"But like how do they tell? Do they make the customers take a survey when they join Geico and the question is, 'did you join because of our commercials?'" See? I told you we were bored. But thankfully, Thranduil was called in soon after that rousing discussion on Gieco's profits and I got to sit in the waiting room by myself for another half an hour, playing games on my phone.

 

I was right, people. Write it down. I was right. And I really wish I hadn't been this time, because it would have saved us a very long and costly trip to where they keep your cars after they tow them. Yes. We were towed. Fun. No, not fun. It was actually the worst thing ever. We walked out to our parking spot and the car was gone...along with the few other cars that had been parked there. Thranduil started spouting out profanities, so I was left to call the local police station to find out where our car was impounded. Let's just say it wasn't close. "Okay," I turned to Thranduil after hanging up. "We need to call someone to bring us to where our car is." He gave me this look and I knew exactly what he was thinking. It was the first name that had popped into my head too. "No."

"I don't want to either, but he's close..."

"No, Thranduil."

"Alright." He gave up easily. 

"How about Theodred?"

"No," he said a little too quickly. "He's too far." He was...

"Okay...but who else? Galadriel has the kids, so we can't call her..."

"Let me see." Thranduil took out his phone and started scrolling through his contacts and I decided to do the same. 

"Well actually..." I stared down at one of the top names on my phone, a small smile forming on my face. "I know someone who lives not too far from here."

"Who?" Obviously Thranduil wanted to know who it was, but I pressed the 'call' button before answering him. "Who?" Thranduil asked again, and I motioned for him to be quiet as Eomer answered his phone. "Hey, I have a huge favor to ask."

 

Thranduil spent the whole car ride in silence. Probably because I had no problem having a good time with Eomer. We talked about his job, then we got into old college memories, and you know how that is - it all ends in laughter. We stopped by an ATM first to withdraw some cash, then headed towards the car lot. When we got there, Eomer got out of the car to give me a big hug, then offered to stay to make sure we got our car alright. It was a sweet question, but I knew I had to refuse. "Thank you so much, Eomer." He gave me a parting smile, then turned to Thranduil. 

"It was nice to meet you, Thranduil." He held out his hand and Thranduil didn't hesitate before shaking it and giving him half of a polite smile.

"Thank you for your help. We appreciate it."

"No problem." He slid back into his car then pulled off, leaving us to walk up to the little building on the corner that was inhabited by a big burly man. His name-tag said, 'Beorn' and I had no clue of that was his last name or his first name...I was left pondering that as Thranduil told the man about our car. The fee was almost two hundred dollars and that just seemed outrageous to me. Then the man said he'd go back and find where they had parked the car, then inspect it before he let us in. I didn't know why...but that was the procedure he seemed to want to follow. It wasn't until he had disappeared into the maze of cars that I realized that Thranduil was holding my hand. Or maybe I was holding his. To be honest, I didn't know how long we'd been holding hands. But there he was next to me, leaning on his cane and holding my hand. 

"I hope you didn't mind Eomer taking us here?"

"It was very kind of him to make the trip."

"You know...he has a sister, Eowyn. She's actually getting married in a few weeks." I glanced up at Thranduil's face and he seemed to be feigning interest for my sake. "I have to RSVP soon and I was wondering...if maybe..." I was now looking at the ground and doing one of those nervous ticks - digging the toe of my shoe into the dirt. "...you would want to come with me?" I could feel his eyes on me now, but I decided not to look up until he said something. 

"I'd be very happy to accompany you, but you know I cannot." He spoke steadily and I brought my eyes up to his. 

"Oh." I gave a small nod and looked away again, not pushing for an explanation, though frankly, I was confused.

"I can't go anywhere looking like this, Lora."

"Oh is that why?" I gave a slight laugh and let go of his hand, taking a step away before turning and looking at him. "I thought you'd want to go out with me."

"You know I do, but you also know that I can't."

"Are you going to stay in your house for the rest of your life then?" It was a serious question and it took him a moment before he replied. Then his answer was slow and soft.

"Wouldn't you?" 

"Maybe I'd want to...but I hope I'd have someone who'd make me go outside anyways. Who'd help me accept what I was now."

"That's easy for you to say. You look exactly the same as you always have."

"Maybe it is easy for me to say...but that doesn't mean that it's not true." I stepped towards him then reached up towards his bandage. The moment my fingers touched the gauze, he drew back. "Let me," I said gently. Then I carefully removed the bandage, revealing his scarred face. "Thranduil, Listen to me." I reached up and gently cradled his face in my hands. "You look no less beautiful to me than the day I walked into your apartment for the first time. I love you no matter what your face looks like." He had tears in his eyes now, and that was something new to me. Then he spoke, his voice full of emotion.

"I know you do. I love you too, Lora." Then I was wrapping my arms around his neck and I kissed him. I felt his hands gripping my waist as he kissed me back - slowly and gently. I don't know, maybe most people would want their first kiss with the love of their life in a more romantic setting. My first kiss with Thranduil was outside of a car lot in a bad part of town, and honestly, I couldn't think of a more romantic setting I'd rather have. We loved each other and we'd love each other just as much out in a fine dining restaurant or out in the pouring rain as we did on an abandoned street corner.


	27. The Honest Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...this chapter...it was really hard for me to write because I poured a lot of myself into it and I'm sure you guys will be able to see that. Thank you so much for putting up with my strange story and loving it, and me <3\. You are all so kind and encouraging and have added so much to my life. I am very blessed <3
> 
> I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my darling Lossie, because it was just her birthday <3\. Happy birthday, dear! Thank you so much for all of your sweet and thoughtful comments - I always look forward to reading them. I pray God blesses you greatly this next year. Stay strong, my dear <3\. All my love! xoxo

You know how in the movies as two people are falling in love or after they had their first kiss, they keep looking at each other and smiling from time to time. And it doesn't even have to be about anything, just seeing each other makes them smile? Well that's totally based on real life, cause I can't tell you how many times Thranduil and I caught each other's eye and smiled that day after our first kiss. Legolas bounded about the house as children normally do, and Thranduil and I would just watch each other from across the room. After I made Legolas a grilled cheese for lunch, I started making Thranduil and I paninis. Thranduil leaned against the opposite side of the counter, staring at me with that smile on his face. Of course that made me blush like an idiot every few seconds. Legolas was chowing down his sandwich next to his dad, while reading some of his homework. A few moments later, Thranduil stepped next to me and slid a small piece of paper onto the counter. It said, 'Hello, my love.' Then the blushing began all over again and I had to keep myself from looking at him or I'd probably kiss him again. He put a pen on top of the paper then leaned back against the fridge and folded his arms. Well then. I'll write you a gosh dang message. I picked up the pen and a few possibilities ran through my head, most of them dirty, but I finally decided on, 'You want onions and peppers on your panini, mi amor?' He let out a laugh after he read it and damn, the temptations were so hard to resist when he laughed like that and I knew that I could...if Legolas wasn't in the room. Oh, important detail that I forgot to report - this was also the first day that he was walking around the house without a bandage on his face and he looked wonderful. It had been a long time since I'd seen him so happy. And though my own joy was uncontainable, it made it even better knowing that I was the one who could make him so happy. I guess that's how I knew it was love. I wanted him to be happy more than I wanted to be happy. And we were lucky. In our case, both could happen.

 

Then I got to demonstrate my love, even if it was in a small way. It was a way that mattered to me, and I hoped would matter to him. I knocked on his office door after retrieving something from my apartment upstairs. "Come in," He spoke as if he knew that I was the one knocking. I stepped inside and closed the door behind him, and the next moment he was stepping towards me and our lips were together. 

"Believe it or not, that wasn't the reason that I came in here. Or rather, not the only reason." I laughed as we pulled apart. "I actually have something for you."

"What is it?" He asked curiously. I slid my hand into my pocket then pulled out the flash drive that he'd given to me so many months before. I held it out to him and he looked at it for a moment before looking up at me. "Why?"

"It's your property on this drive and if you want to write what is on here, you may. Just don't say anything bad about me." I grinned and his face mirrored mine before he reached out and took the small drive from my palm. 

"Would it make you mad if I said that I'd already resumed writing about you?"

"I'd say that I suspected it." I smiled and he laughed before kissing my cheek quickly. 

"Thank you, my dear." He put the drive on his desk, then I saw the excitement grow in his eyes. "I've been working on something new. It's very different from what I was writing before."

"No more fantasy?"

"No more," he smiled. "This is real." He picked up a handful of papers from the printer tray and held them out to me. "I was going to give it to you to read tonight."

"What if I read it and have nothing good to say?"

"That at least I'll know it's shit and can move on to something else." He pushed them closer to me and I reluctantly took them. It wasn't that I didn't want to read it, but I was nervous. Reading the work of my boss was hard enough and I didn't have to love that. I knew he would have continued writing it whether I loved it or not. But now, I was with this guy and he wanted me to read his work. What if it sucked? I mean it wouldn't suck, right? He was a famous writer after-all. Oh please don't let it be awful.

 

I shouldn't have worried. Thranduil's new story was wonderful. It was real. He wrote about his family and the people he loved. He wrote more about his childhood and his son. He wrote about Bard...he wrote about his wife...and he wrote about me. And I think that the danger of me reading all of that in one place would be that I'd just feel like the next one. Just the next person on his list of conquests...but I didn't feel that. Thranduil and I had never once spoken about his wife, and we hadn't really spoken about Bard either, but I didn't feel like that was an urgent necessity. In his writing I could see how differently he felt about the three of us. His wife was the first and their love was born through romance and good times. Bard was almost pure attraction mixed with pain where the feelings were far more one-sided, and not from Thranduil. Then there was me. I was the last. Our love was proved through hardship and loss. And while I knew that Thranduil had loved and been invested deeply in each person before me, I knew that our love could out-last them all. Reading Thranduil's life story made me feel even closer to him. I knew so much more about his life. But he still didn't know about mine. He didn't know that I had cheated to get what I wanted. He didn't know how rapidly feelings had changed and now he needed to. And that scared me. Because I knew that I could accept Thranduil for all his faults and I knew our love was strong...but that didn't keep me from feeling nervous that he wouldn't want to accept me and all I had done. But when did we ever feel worthy to be loved? At least at the start. I had to choose to love Thranduil. Every day I had to choose. But that wasn't all. I also had to choose to be loved. And then I felt selfish, thinking like I did. He must have a much harder time allowing me to love him then I could ever have. And when you start thinking like that, everything just gets worse.

 

I was quiet the next morning as I made waffles for breakfast. Legolas wasn't up yet and I heard Thranduil coming out of his room down the hall. I could tell because of the click of the cane on the wood floor that accompanied his footsteps. "Good morning." His words came with a smile and he walked over to me, placing his hand on my back and leaning over to kiss my cheek. He was really happy and a sharp pain hit my chest because I didn't feel the same right now. And you know it really just sucked that it was because of my own insecurity. I was terrified of messing things up with him now. I just cared so much that I was scared. And I didn't know how to fight that. Everything with Bard and Thorin had really messed me up a lot more than I let on. I guess a lot more than I even knew. Then I realized that I hadn't said anything back to Thranduil and he was now standing behind me rubbing his hands gently up and down my arms. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, just thinking." I gave him the best smile I could muster. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, did you?" There was concern in his voice and I didn't want him to be concerned. 

"Not bad," I nodded. That was sort of a lie considering I'd been worrying all night. I think he knew that. "I think we should talk at some point." I turned around and my eyes met his. "Just so we're both on the same page."

"Yes, of course." He stepped back so he could see me better, leaning back against the island. "We should go out tonight."

"Okay." I tried again to smile. "Thank you."

"I'll call Galadriel and see if she can watch Legolas tonight."

"Good idea." Then I turned back around and pulled out the next set of waffles before they burned. 

"Do we need to talk sooner?" He was really worried, I knew he was.

"No." I turned back around and smiled. This time it was more convincing. "Tonight will be fine." I stepped forward and pressed my lips against his briefly, then stepped towards coffee maker. "I'm sorry that I'm a little off today."

"That's fine," he said calmly. "Let me know when breakfast is ready." Then he headed off towards his office, leaving me to pour our coffee. I felt awful and I didn't want to. It shouldn't have to feel like this. I shouldn't feel like this. I wanted to scream and push it all away. I wanted to go back to the blushing happiness I had yesterday when we called each other sweet names and kissed in his office. But I had to go and start thinking and ruin everything. But we would talk tonight. We would talk tonight and we would clear everything up. 

 

 

He stayed in his office for the rest of the day until he went and got ready to take me out. I was wondering what we were going to tell Legolas, but Thranduil made that simple. "Legolas, Lora and I are going out. Miss Galadriel is going to pick you up and you're going to spend the night over at Tauriel's house."

"Okay." The child didn't seem to care one bit. He packed a few things into his backpack, then left happily with Galadriel. Then it was our turn. I was wearing a short black dress that had a few inches of sequins around the bottom hem. I wore matching black pumps and my hair was up in a bun. Thranduil wore tight black jeans and a light blue v-neck with his large combat boots. His hair was pulled up in a bun, like mine, and he had put the bandage back over his face. That was understandable for our first actual outing that wasn't to a medical building. He took my hand and threaded his fingers through mine as he flipped off the lights in the apartment, then closed the door after us. We walked down the stairs in silence, then out to the car. We climbed into our sides of the car, me in the drivers seat, then reached out for each other's hands again. Thranduil directed me to a restaurant where we could get take-out, then drove to a rather empty park parking lot and moved to the backseat to eat. It was also understandable that Thranduil wouldn't want to spend a whole evening sitting in a restaurant full of people. He did take off his bandage once we were settled though, and that made me feel better. I took a bite of my creamy chicken and noodles, then looked over at the lovely man beside me who I in no way deserved. 

"Okay," Thranduil turned so he was facing me more. "What's been going on?"

"Um...I don't usually...I don't usually feel like this in new relationships, but..." I took a deep breath then exhaled. Honestly. Honesty in relationships was always important. "I'm really scared."

"Why?" The question was warranted. I shouldn't be scared of anything. I moved my food to next to me so I could put all of my attention on him. 

"I don't want to hurt you." The words almost surprised myself, but they had been on the tip of my brain all day. He put his food down beside him, then moved closer to me, reaching out to take one of my hands, ready to listen to whatever I had to say next. "I did something really bad once." I glanced up at him, then looked down at our hands. "I cheated on Thorin to be with Bard...and I let it go on for longer than it should have before I broke things..." I took another deep breath, trying not to get too emotional. "I really hurt somebody just to get what I wanted...and that just makes me think...what kind of a person am I?" I gave a sad sort of laugh and Thranduil remained silent. "I know that I love you," I looked up at him and I saw it in his eyes. "And I know that you love me...but I'm just not sure that you should. I just don't know how I could be good for anybody." And then it was too late, I was already crying. He wrapped his arms around me and I lay my head on his chest, winding my arms around his waist and holding on tightly. That was really the root of the problem. My own stupid insecurity that I just couldn't get past. And it had actually been really hard to push those words out of my mouth and just tell him the truth, but I did. He let me cry for a few minutes, holding me gently, then he pulled away just enough for him to see my face again. He brushed the tears away from my cheeks and then ran his fingers down the side of my face, stopping under my chin. 

"Lora, I think you already know that I have similar feelings about myself. I don't feel like you should love me. And I just want you to think about how much you love me, even though you know I don't think I deserve it, and that's how I love you. I don't care if you hurt somebody or more than one somebody. I know that you may feel like you're not worthy of love...but I'm going to try to show you every day how that's not true." And then I was crying again. This time from happiness.

"I love you Thranduil Sylvan."

"I love you too, Lora." And that was it. That was what I needed to hear. He slid his arm around my waist, then kissed me, pulling me closer against him. Then I was wrapping my arms around his neck and I could feel his strong arms pressing against my back as we kissed. And everything felt right again. That didn't mean that all my insecurity had disappeared forever, but I knew now that we could work through it. I knew that our relationship was worth working through everything for.

 

"Come on, let's take a walk." We had just finished our food and Thranduil suggested that we go walk around the sparsely-lit park. But I said yes. I took his hand and we spent the next hour walking through the park, talking about whatever random thoughts popped into our heads, like, "Do you usually go home to your parents for Christmas?" I did. He didn't. "Where did you learn to cook?" I learned out of necessity. At first, I was throwing cheese and whipped cream in a pot and hoping it would taste good, then I got decent. But none of you care about how I learned, you all wanted to know how he learned. He went to a local cooking school instead of going to college and worked as a sous chef at a small restaurant for a few years. Yes, people, that's how good he was. Then his writing career took off and he decided to do that full-time. After our walk, we decided to go get a few drinks, so we drove to a bar. He made sure he was touching me the whole time we were there, like keeping his hand on my back. That was comforting. I asked him if he wanted to dance and at first he didn't want to, but after a few more drinks, he gave in and we went out to the dance floor. We weren't crazy, but we had fun. Then we went back home and I was so thankful that Legolas was spending the night at Tauriel's house. We ended up pouring glasses of wine and sitting on the floor, talking in front of the fire place. Yes, we actually did that. Sometimes the things in movies actually happen. That was when the more serious questions like, "When was your first time?" came out. Well..."more serious" or "drunk college sleepover." You decide. For those of you wondering, my first time was at the beginning of my senior year of high school. We'd been dating for a few months before we found out that he was going to move to a new state. We decided to have one last night together and that's when it happened. For Thranduil - he waited until Freshman year of college when he got drunk and lost his virginity to some random sophomore. His words, not mine. Apparently it wasn't memorable. Then we lay down together on the floor with a blanket and a bunch of pillows and talked about what we had wanted to be when we were young. He had always wanted to write and cook. I had always wanted to be an artist. At least we'd both pursued our dreams. Then we curled up and fell asleep together. For those of you who are nosy, no we didn't have sex. Not tonight. We just curled up with his arm around my waist, my back to his chest, and fell asleep. It was the most comfortable I'd been in months. And I was happy.


	28. The Austrian Wine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew - I wasn't sure if I'd have this chapter done tonight, but here it is! I hope you all enjoy it! I have really awesome plans for upcoming chapters, so I hope you guys are as excited as I am :D

I didn't want to push anything too fast. As Thranduil grew stronger, I spent more and more time back at my apartment and less at his. I always went home before Legolas went to bed, then was back just before he got up. We hadn't said anything definite to Legolas, but he knew. Thranduil and I started doing things that I wouldn't even notice at first. Like once, we held hands during all of dinner and I didn't realize til I had to get up. One time we were watching a movie and I didn't realize Thranduil's arm was around me until the really sad scene and I wanted to cry into his shoulder. I mean like, I'm not biased or anything, but we really were the perfect couple. The perfect family, really, cause we had Legolas too.

 

The doctor visits became farther and farther apart and the therapy visits became shorter. Thranduil still walked with a cane, but no longer winced when he moved. It was a very happy day when I took Legolas to his last therapy session. From the door, I watched Legolas do all of the exercises with no pain at all. I did an internal fist-pump each time he completed one. Okay, it was an external one. Theodred walked by just before Legolas finished and we chatted for a few minutes. "I actually wanted to give you this." He handed me the pamphlet he'd been holding and playing with during our whole conversation. There was a picture of two very happy people on the front and across the top, bright red letters spelled, 'BLOOD DRIVE'. "I volunteer at a clinic and they're having a blood drive. We're actually having a contest with another clinic to see how much blood we can get...so I thought of you."

"Okay..."

"I just heard that they had to give blood to Thranduil after his accident...so..."

"So you thought that I might want to give since it saved my boyfriend's life?" I raised my eyebrows at him, fighting a smile. He gave me a cheeky smile and I laughed. "That was smart of you. I'll see if I'm free that day."

"Thank you. I'll invite you to our victory party if you come."

"I'm sure Thranduil would love that," I rolled my eyes then grinned. The next moment a small boy's arms were wrapping around my waist and he was laying his head against my arm. "You all done, babe?" I asked, turning to Legolas. 

"Yep."

"I just have some papers for you to sign," Legolas's therapist spoke from behind me. I turned around and took the clipboard that he held in my direction. 

"Thank you."

"I'll see you at Thranduil's appointment tomorrow," Theodred said, touching my arm for a moment before leaving me to my paperwork. Legolas had taken the pamphlet from my hands as we sat down in the waiting room and glanced through it while I wrote my initials a million times. 

"Do you think Theodred likes you?"

"What?" I let out a surprised laugh. "He just gave me a pamphlet, Legolas."

"But he talks to you a lot...and he smiles a lot when he talks to you. Do you think he likes you?" It felt like he was boring his eyes into me now. I actually felt very uncomfortable.

"I don't know...but even if he did, you know how much I love your dad."

"I know," He went back to looking over the pamphlet. "But he seems like a nice guy. I don't want him to get hurt or anything." Um?

"I think he'll be fine...but thanks for your concern?"

"You're welcome." Oh my goodness. Dear child, you are too smart for your own good.

 

I was making a grocery list and went to the fridge to see what we were out of when I noticed it. You see, I'd walked past it and around it so many times that I had forgotten that it was still there. The picture of Bard, Thranduil, and Legolas that I'd noticed the first time I walked into this apartment. It wasn't like I minded that it was there...but it wasn't like I wanted a picture of my boyfriend's ex on the fridge, either. But I didn't want to be one of those girlfriends who took everything away that even remotely reminded them of an ex. So I just looked at it for a few moments. They all looked really happy...and Thranduil's face...well it didn't look like it did now. "Are you still going to the store?" I turned away from the picture at the sound of my love's voice. 

"Yes," I gave him a kind of awkward smile. He looked at me, then at the picture, then back to me. 

"Well I realized that we'll need some batteries too if you want to add that to the list."

"Okay, I will. Anything else?"

"That's all I could think of."

"Okay. I'll be heading out soon." I took a step back and turned to go, but stopped myself. "Oh, and I wanted to mention something to you. Eowyn, the one who's getting married, wanted to get together for a double-date kind of thing. Would you be up for that?"

"Sure, if that's something you want."

"Yeah?" I have to admit, I was surprised and very very excited by his response. 

"Yeah." He gave me a small smile.

"Okay, I'll let you know when we set something up."

"Okay." Then he gave me a nod and turned back to his office. The moment he was gone, I did a little happy dance. Going out with Thranduil? Eff yeah. I pulled on my coat then left the apartment for my shopping trip and I have to admit...I never saw that picture on the fridge again.

 

Have you ever seen The Phantom of the Opera? That story about the creepy stalker man who trains the pretty singer? Well remember how something happened to his face so he wore a mask? Well that was the answer to Thranduil's going-out-in-public troubles. At least, we would try it. Thranduil had a mask made that went around both his eyes, then extended down the left side of his face, covering the burned area. It was black, and even had little slits cut extending out from the eyes in case he wanted to wear winged eye-liner. Our double-date would be the first time he'd actually wear it in public. He got dressed in a nice pair of black slacks, a matching black suit jacket, and a dark green dress shirt with the top buttons unbuttoned. He even let me make one little braid on either side of his head and I brought them to the back of his head, then braided them together so they fell down over the rest of his hair. He looked amazing. Far better than I did in my short dark blue dress and black pumps with my hair hanging in ringlets down to my shoulders. He had his cane in one hand and my hand in the other. I stayed as close to his side as I could as we walked into the restaurant. I easily spotted the stunning Eowyn over in one of the booths with her fiance. She stood up to give me a hug, kindly telling me how beautiful I looked. I returned the complement then turned to give Faramir a hug as well. "Thranduil, this is Eowyn and her fiance, Faramir. Eowyn and Faramir, this is my boyfriend, Thranduil." 

"So nice to finally meet you!" Eowyn gave Thranduil a hug and Faramir shook his hand before we all sat down. "We've heard so much about you." Eowyn was grinning as she snuggled up against Faramir.

"And I about you. Lora is very excited for your wedding." Thranduil smiled and I felt so proud, watching him interact so easily with perfect strangers after his accident. 

"Yes! I certainly hope to see both of you there."

"Well I did return the RSVP card saying that I was bringing a plus one..." I threaded my arm through my boyfriend's, giving him a smile. He returned it, but didn't say anything to confirm that he'd be in attendance. 

"We ordered a bottle of wine. I hope that's alright," Faramir spoke up from across the table. "A Weingut Brundlmayer Riesling."

"Ah, from Kamptal?" Thranduil's quick response to the name of some kind of wine was hardly surprising. That man knew his food and wine. Faramir looked at him for a moment, then laughed.

"I'm afraid I don't know too terribly much about wine. I was going to have salmon and asked the waiter what would pair well with it. He suggested the Riesling." Faramir, my good man, that's exactly what I would do. 

"I'm sure it's a good wine," Thranduil smiled graciously on the much lesser man across the table who did not even know if the wine was from Kamptal. I would later find out that Kamptal was a region of Austria. Cool.

 

"Well he certainly isn't hard on the eyes, even with the mask." Eowyn had declared her voyage to the ladies room, so of course I went with her. She now stood before the mirror, re-applying her mascara. 

"Yes, well, it's something new that we're trying out."

"How bad is the damage?" 

"Bad enough." I gave her a small smile, leaning against the wall and watching her make faces as she applied her makeup. "He looks very different...and it bothers him."

"That must be hard - dealing with that situation right at the start of a relationship."

"It doesn't make things easier, no, but it's the reason we got so close. I just don't want him to worry about it."

"Well he has you by his side, so I'm sure he'll do just fine." She took out her lipstick and applied some before handing it to me. "And what does his son think?"

"About us dating?"

"Mmhmm."

"He doesn't mind." I carefully applied some of the light pink color to my lips. "He wanted us together before we wanted to be together."

"How old is he anyway?"

"Ten."

"No, I mean Thranduil. He has a son, so he can't be that young, can he?" She had moved on to blush and I put her lipstick back in her purse.

"Why? Does it bother you that I'm dating a man a few years my senior?" A few years was stretching the truth a bit...there were many years between our ages.

"No, as long as you love each other. And it helps that he's rich of course." She gave me a smile. "What about that Bard guy? Did you ever find out what was going on between him and Thranduil?"

"Oh, they dated for a while...before Bard and I were together."

"Oh?" It was the kind of 'oh' that meant she was surprised and very curious. That was definitely not something I wanted to talk about, though, and immediately regretted my answer. 

"We shouldn't leave them together too long, though. I don't know how much talking Thranduil will want to do."

"What, afraid Faramir will bore him with his lack of knowledge on food pairings?" She laughed, finally finishing all her make-up and tucking the last of it into her purse. 

"It was your suggestion to come to a restaurant," I told her. Internally, I was very happy that we had gone to a place where I could easily show Thranduil off. Though it was more like he was showing himself off with all his foodie knowledge. 

"It's really nice to see you so happy, Lora." Eowyn threaded her arm through mine as we walked back towards our table. "I hope everything works out well for you too." I did too. I slid back into the booth and Thranduil's arm immediately wound around my shoulders, just as easily as Faramir's wrapped around Eowyn's. I wasn't worried about our relationship not lasting, because it would. The only reason it wouldn't was if one of us got in the way. Unfortunately, we seemed to have a knack for that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had something like this in mind: http://thumbs2.picclick.com/d/w1600/pict/251032482649_/Black-Half-Face-Leather-Mask-Masquerade-Phantom-Costume.jpg


	29. The Cold Granite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually really nervous about how this chapter is going to go over...like really nervous...this isn't a light chapter...but this is what I felt should come next, so hopefully you guys will support that and we'll see what happens...
> 
> This chapter is also a potential trigger warning, just so you all know.

 

It was just a small event. It shouldn't have been a big deal. It was just something to get Thranduil back into the swing of things. We were sitting in the front row as the names were called for the break-out authors who had won awards. Our hands had to be free to clap, so our knees rested together instead. I wore a short, light pink dress and he wore a white suit with a black shirt. He was also wearing his mask. Then some guy had to get up on the stage and give a speech. It started out well enough. "I wanted to thank everyone for coming out this evening! It's especially nice to see Thranduil Sylvan in the crowd tonight." The speaker paused for the audience to clap and I saw Thranduil smile beside me. I rested my hand proudly on his knee and listened to the next words that came out of his mouth. "For those of you who don't know, if any of you don't, Thranduil was in a very bad car accident a few months ago. I heard your car swerved off the road," the speaker addressed Thranduil. "You gotta watch out how many drinks you take, am I right?" There was some scattered laughter from the audience and my hand instantly tightened on my boyfriend's knee. I then realized that I had to remain calm. I relaxed my fingers and found his hand instead, threading our fingers together tightly. The speaker wasn't done. "And your son was in the car too, I heard. Yeah, he made it out alright and you made it out with half a face." Then he laughed. He actually laughed. "Hey, if I knew that this was a masquerade ball, I woulda worn my mask!" Thranduil's hand was shaking as it tightened on mine. "Well hey, it suits you! You look better than you did before, buddy. Glad to have you back." Thranduil was now gripping my hand so tightly that it was beginning to go numb. Then he must have realized what he was doing and he relaxed, turned towards me, and smiled. 

"I'm okay," he whispered. But he wasn't okay. Who could be okay after that bastard had said all of those things. That ignorant fucking asshole.

 

The rest of the evening, nobody said anything like that speaker had said, but it was the little things. They'd ask how he was, comment on how good he looked, ask where he got the mask...some even asked what the doctor had said about his situation. One lovely (stupid) lady gave him the card for her dermatologist. It didn't matter if these comments were kindly met, it was the fact that they were made. Thranduil was being singled out and nobody who'd been through such a traumatizing injury deserved that. I stayed by his side the whole evening, garnering a few comments, but I wouldn't leave. Some other lovely (stupid) lady came up to us and asked, "Why aren't you with that wonderful man you always bring to these events?"

"I don't think he ever truly liked these events," Thranduil told her truthfully.

"Well it certainly didn't stop him from coming."

"He's here?" The words left my mouth before I meant them too.

"Of course, dear," The woman said it like I was stupid for not knowing. I probably was. "He was hiding out in the back of the room with another young man."

"Well then we'll have to go say hello." Thranduil gave the lady a gracious smile, then pulled me aside.

"What the hell is he doing here?" I asked in a loud whisper. His eyes started to dart around the room, trying to find Bard. I think we both found him at the same time. He was looking at us, but looked away the moment we spotted him. "Come on." Thranduil took my hand and led me in his direction, but I pulled him to a stop.

"Do we have to say hello? Why can't we just ignore him?"

"Lora, it's polite to say hello. And we don't want to give anyone else any more reasons to say anything about me." Okay. Fine. For you, I'd plaster a smile on my face and say hello. We walked over and found Bard standing with another man. "Hello, Bard." Thranduil greeted him warmly and even gave him a hug. I smiled, but kept my mouth shut. "I wasn't aware you'd be here this evening."

"Elros invited me." Bard motioned to his companion. "Elros, this is Thranduil Sylvan and his girlfriend, Lora." He didn't linger on any of the words, he just stated it as a matter of fact. Elros said that he was pleased to meet us and shook our hands.

"Elros Woodland, am I right?" Thranduil asked as his hand wound around my waist.

"Yes sir. I'm surprised you know my name. I'm a great fan of your work."

"I read your book... _Keys_ , I believe that's what it was called. It was very good."

"Thank you." The young man seemed flustered and that made me smile. I was dating a well-known author and one of his fans was blushing merely because he was recognized by Thranduil. "I'm looking forward to your next publication."

"Well it's almost finished," Thranduil told him.

"Oh is it?" Bard cut in almost immediately. "I didn't even know that you were writing again."

"I am."

"Is it the same kind of story that you started before?"

"It is."

"Were you going to tell me?" His voice was full of accusation.

"I was." Thranduil kept his answers simple and to the point. He sounded nonchalant, but his grip was tightening on my waist. "Just not yet."

"Just not yet," Bard repeated with a laugh. "Oh, okay. Well I guess I know now."

"I guess you do, Mr. Bowman. Now if you'll excuse us, we're going to be heading out." Then he gave Bard a polite head nod before leading me away.

"Can I swear? Is it impolite to swear in here?" I asked in a low tone, glancing around us.

"Let's go." Thranduil said firmly. It sounded like there were a million emotions hidden under those two words and it sounded like they were hard to keep under control. I decided not to anything more and we silently left the building and walked out to the car. But just as we did, we were met by the man who had made that speech earlier on stage. His suit coat had been removed and the top buttons of his shirt were now unbuttoned. He was drunk.

"Hey!" A grin decorated his face and he tried to put his arm around Thranduil, but Thranduil shrugged him off and kept walking, pulling me closer. "It was good to see you! You should come out more often! Hey," he grabbed Thranduil's arm, pulling him to a stop. "Say hello to your kid for me, will you? Someone's gotta look out for him." Thranduil pulled away and we picked up our pace towards the car. I was livid when I climbed into the car and slammed my door, but I had to push down my own feelings to pay attention to those of the man next to me. At first, there was no emotion. Pure nothingness from him. Then as we were driving, I noticed his hands began to shake. Then there was his breathing. It got louder and heavier with every mile. Soon all I could hear was his breathing. It was deafening.

 

Legolas was spending the night at his friend from school's house and I'd never been more grateful to get home to an empty apartment. We didn't say anything as we headed up the stairs to his apartment, but then Thranduil picked up the pace. He grabbed my arm and was practically pulling me up the stairs. It wasn't until he had unlocked the door, pulled me inside, then slammed it behind us that I realized why. He pushed me against the wall and his lips hit mine harshly. He was soon tearing off his coat, then mine, as he kissed me for all he was worth. He pressed his body up against mine and his hands pulled our hips together. My hands were tangled in his hair and I kissed him back, but it felt wrong. I didn't feel his love. All I felt was his anger and pain. He pulled off his jacket then moved his hands around my body and down to my thighs and he lifted me up til I wrapped my legs around his waist. His fingers were gripping my tights so tightly that I was afraid they would leave marks. When I pulled my lips away from his, he moved to my neck. We began to move towards his bedroom and he stopped at the counter, setting me down for a moment. That's where he tore off his mask then pushed me down til my back touched the counter. He slid my dress up and I felt his lips press against the inside of my thighs. I was breathing hard and that's when my body began to tense up. He climbed onto the counter, his body over mine, as he pulled my dress further up. He caressed my stomach, then my chest, before pulling my dress over my head. I flinched as the cold granite counter-top came in contact with my skin. He kissed me again, then slid off and pulled my body with him. I was pressed up against the door-frame as he pulled off his shirt, then our skin was pressed together. Then it hit me. This intense need for his body. I ran my hands up his back, giving in to that passionate desire as his hands grabbed my hips again. But it was too harsh. His fingers were pressing into me too deeply and just like that...I wanted him to stop. I recoiled from his touch, pushing my body more against the wall, but his stayed pressed against mine. He wasn't letting up. My heartbeat quickened and I was filled with an intense terror. Then my body hit his bed and he was over me, kissing my lips, then my neck. I was shaking. "Thranduil," the word came out between my deep breaths and was barely audible. "Thranduil, please don't fuck me just because you're mad." He stopped and looked up, and for the first time, I saw his eyes. "If you want to show me you love me, that's fine, but please don't fuck me because you're angry." I was speaking quickly, but he heard every word. Then this expression came over my face of such intense pain. I knew he didn't mean to hurt me, he didn't know what he was doing. He made a choking sound, then slowly lay down, his head resting on my stomach and I felt him begin to shake with sobs. I ran my fingers through his hair until he fell asleep from pure exhaustion, but I couldn't sleep. I laid awake for most of the night thinking about it. The feeling of his fingers digging into my skin wouldn't leave my body. Thranduil and I had had a long way to go before this incident and now it was even longer.

 

Neither of us spoke the next morning. I got up before him and made breakfast. He came out and ate in the most painful silence I'd ever been through. Then he disappeared back into his room and I heard the shower turn on. That was my queue to leave. I walked up the stairs to my apartment and once I was inside, I sat down on the couch and flipped on the TV just so I wouldn't think. I didn't need to think right now. I checked my phone for the first time since last night and saw that Theodred had texted me. He said, 'Hope to see you at the blood drive today!' Oh yeah...that was today. I glanced towards the clock and sighed. And suddenly that was exactly where I wanted to be. I went and showered quickly, then ran downstairs and out to the car. I was the most relaxed I'd been all day when I got into the chair and got prepped for my blood donation. Theodred wasn't the one attending me and I was thankful that I didn't have to have a conversation right then. The needle was inserted and I was left alone, watching my blood run through the tube and into a bag that would preserve it for another person who'd need it. They'd given some to Thranduil after his accident. That's...that's usual for burn victims. Just a few months ago, someone else had sat in a chair just like mine...and because they did...Thranduil's life had been saved. I closed my eyes and imagined that the blood I was giving would save his life too...because isn't that exactly what I was trying to do? I was trying to make him better and I couldn't do it. After last night, I felt like I had made everything worse. He wasn't better. The anger that used to lie under his skin in the hospital was still there. I couldn't make that go away. No matter how much I told him I loved him or...or how much blood I gave sitting in this chair, he wasn't better. He was in pain and I wasn't sure that I wasn't giving him more pain. And the fact that the time that I felt closest to him...was sitting in a chair with a needle in my arm...that was messed up. People don't feel that way in healthy relationships. But I loved him. I loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone. Well wasn't that what people always thought in relationships anyways? And maybe it was usually true. It was for me.

 

"How was your night?" I smiled over at the little boy sitting in the passenger seat.

"It was fun. We played Halo. Then we had pancakes for breakfast, but they weren't as good as yours."

"Not enough chocolate chips?" I laughed as he nodded. "Well then at least they were healthier than mine."

"They were whole wheat." Legolas made a face.

"Ewwwww," we said together.

"Legolas, I think your dad has a lot of work to do today, so make sure you don't bother him too much."

"I won't. Where did you go last night?"

"We went to an awards banquet for new writers."

"Was it fun?" At his question, the images from last night - being pressed up against the wall, Thranduil's fingers digging into my skin - jumped into my mind. The event had been the cause of his actions. If they hadn't goaded him on, he wouldn't have acted like that.

"Not really." I forced myself to smile as I glanced over at Legolas again. "You didn't miss much."

"Was Bard there?" As a matter of fact...

"Yes, we got to say hi." Well Thranduil did. I smiled fakely.

"Did you tell him I miss him?"

"No," I paused for a moment. "Do you?"

"Yeah," he said nonchalantly. "He should come over sometime."

"Maybe." No. That was a definite no. Legolas, when someone used to date both your dad and his new girlfriend...you don't usually invite them over for tea.

"Why do you have a band-aid on your arm?"

"Because I gave blood today."

"With Theodred?"

"Yes..." I smiled. "With Theodred."

"Was dad there?"

"No, as I told you, your dad has work to do today."

"Oh yeah." He was silent for a few moments before launching into an explanation of how gas made our car run. Apparently his friend's dad was a mechanic. Well, that information may become useful to him one day. It was nice to hear his voice again and listen to him ramble on about pistons and steam. He was such a sweet little boy. He didn't know anything about what had happened last night or all the mixed feelings that I was feeling. And that was nice...to just talk to someone innocent like that before...before I had to go face the person that was giving me the mixed feelings.


	30. The Goodnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 30!! Wooooo!!

We stood at opposite sides of the apartment, both of us watching Legolas finish his lunch. We'd glance up at each other every few moments with that, 'we need to talk' look in our eyes. I had invited Tauriel to join us this afternoon so when she arrived, I sent both kids outside to play for a little while, hoping that would give us enough time to talk. The moment the door closed, I turned to him. We looked at each other for a moment, then I sighed. 

"You can't ever take your anger out on me like that again," I told him, shaking my head slowly. My eyes were wide and earnest. He watched me, then nodded. 

"I know. I wrote something."

"You wrote something?" I narrowed my eyes in confusion, and he held out a folded piece of paper that had been sitting on the table. It was written like a page from his book, but I knew this wasn't for the book. My eyes read the first two lines, before I stopped and looked up at him. He sat down in one of the chairs at the table, facing me, and watched me anxiously. I gave him a small smile as I held it out to him. "Will you read it to me?" He gave me a short nod before taking the paper from my fingers. He cleared his throat, then began. 

"Dear readers, I wish I could take you into my mind just so you could see her. Here, let me try to describe to you exactly what she looks like. Just be aware that it can't possibly compare to her beauty when she's standing right in front of you. She's about 5'8 - tall enough that you don't have to look down too far to see her eyes, but short enough that she can comfortably rest her head on your shoulder. She has hazel eyes and they are so full of life, you feel like a child again just looking into them. They widen with excitement and joy at any mention of a day off or the chance to beat you at Monopoly. She spends her money way too fast in that game, though, so she's easy to beat. Her dark brown hair falls a few inches below her shoulder. It's longer now than it was when I first met her. In the right light, you can see the traces of when she got red highlights. I don't think she knows that they're still visible. She likes wearing the same pair of jeans a few days straight and assumes that just because you put on a new shirt, nobody can tell. I don't think anybody can tell, but I can. She looks best in those button up shirts with the top button unbuttoned, but she's beautiful in everything she wears. Even when she comes to work without showering and her hair is still a mess, she's beautiful. She doesn't wear much jewelry, only earrings every day and a necklace every once in a while. She never wears any rings on her fingers and I'm not sure if that's a sign of no commitment or to tell you she's not your pretty little princess. I've seen her get down on her hands and knees to scrub the bathroom floor. I've seen her wash every last dish in the sink, even if they really could wait until tomorrow. I'm hoping she stayed to do them because I was there. She's definitely not a princess, but she deserves to be treated like one. Every time I watch her with my son, I have to remind myself that she's not his mother. You'd never know she wasn't if you watched them together. She plays his favorite video games with him even though I know she'd rather be drawing at the table. She draws really well. I once saw her draw a bag of potato chips and it was more lifelike than any of the expensive paintings that decorate my walls. She says that getting a degree in art history was a waste of time, but I don't think it was. It makes her happy to draw and that means that it was worth every second." Here he paused for a moment before continuing. "I think she worries about me and I wish that she wouldn't. She thinks that she's the one who's going to make me better, but she's wrong. She can't make me better, but what she doesn't know is that I'm going to get better for her. She's the one I'm going to fight every dark feeling for. For her, I'm going to stop caring about what I see in the mirror. For her, I'm going to ignore every word said about me and my appearance. For her, I'm going to give up what I think I need in order to give her what she deserves. And maybe someday...for her...I'll stop hating myself. It...it really scares me to know how much I need her. I can't put every one of my feelings for her into words. This small paragraph pales in comparison to everything that she is. In the end, this is just a collection of random thoughts, everything that runs through my mind when I see that beautiful woman. But, dear reader, if I'm honest with you...and myself...I'm so deeply in love with her that I don't think it matters. I've done..." His voice began to shake. "I've done a few things that really hurt her. I...I can't tell you the pain that I feel when I know that I've hurt the one person who stayed by my side even when I ordered her to leave. But I'm going to find some way to make it up to her...and if I can't, I'll die trying. Because there is no one so perfect and beautiful as she is...and I love her more than she can imagine." The paper fell to the floor as he buried his face in his hands. In a moment, I was at his side, crouching by his chair and wrapping my arms around him. And we stayed just like that, both completely overcome by our emotion. 

"I love you too," I whispered before pressing my lips against his cheek.

"I'm so sorry," he said earnestly between his tears, and I hushed him with a quick kiss. 

"It's alright. I'm not going anywhere."

 

It must have been a relief to young Legolas to come back into a happy home for dinner. I didn't know how much he had seen, but he had to have noticed the fact that his dad and I weren't that close earlier. It was kind of funny how much I thought about him now...about his feelings and what he must be going through. There was no doubt in my mind that if he didn't like me, Thranduil and I wouldn't be seeing each other right now. Neither his dad nor I would want that. And now...I truly felt as if he was my son. I knew that he wasn't and he never would be by blood...but I still felt like he was my child and I would look after him and care for him as if he was. I asked him what he wanted for dinner and, as I expected, he asked for pizza. Thranduil suggested that we make pizza here at home, so we did. We had a family night just making pizza all together.

 

"More...more...more!" Legolas insisted as I began layering the pepperoni on his pizza. 

"If I put that much on, I won't have room for everything else you want," I laughed.

"We can always build up," He told me very seriously.

"Lora, do you want a lot of cheese?" Thranduil was sprinkling cheese over my pizza, then half-turned so he could put his hand gently on my waist. 

"Yes, please." The moment I had replied, he removed his hand and went back to his work. I smiled to myself as I began to put the vegetables onto Legolas's pizza. Thranduil and I weren't healed, and we wouldn't be right away, but we were trying. It felt comforting to have him near me again. I passed Legolas's now very full pizza back to Thranduil, who called over to his son.

"Legolas?"

"Lots, dad!" In response, Thranduil nodded his head and began filling out his son's order.

"Here, can you dump these left-over veggies into the salad?" I asked Legolas, pushing the tray of them towards him.

"Sure." Legolas did what I asked as I cleaned up the rest of the island, then I stepped aside so Thranduil could slide the pizzas into the oven. 

"How about some Monopoly while we wait for them?" I asked, grinning at the two boys in my life. 

"That takes too long!" Legolas complained.

"How about Scrabble?" Thranduil asked, sliding his arm comfortably around my waist. 

"You always wanna play that because you said it teaches me something," Legolas said with an eye-roll, causing me to laugh. 

"Come on," I motioned him over to the table and we sat down to enjoy a rousing game of Scrabble until the oven timer went off. For those interested, Thranduil won. Hands down. By like five hundred points. Yeah, don't play Scrabble with a writer.

 

We had just said goodnight to Legolas, when I got a text from my sister asking if she could call me. I finished drying the dishes with Thranduil, then stepped into the living room as my phone rang. We went through the usual 'hellos' and 'how are yous' while I sank down into the comfortable couch. Thranduil silently asked if he could join me and I let him, laying my legs across his lap, which he responded to in the correct way - massaging my feet. Amen, people. If your boyfriend doesn't respond in that way, get a new one. "His name is Thranduil," I told my inquisitive older sister as I smiled in my boyfriend's direction. 

"Oh my gosh that's not the guy who was your boss last year, is it?" Ariel asked.

"He's actually sort of still my boss..." Next to me, Thranduil was trying not to act like he was listening. 

"How old is he? Is he really old?"

"No, he's not really old," I chuckled. 

"Was he married before?" 

"...yes. That's how he has Legolas."

"Oh goodness, he's too old for you, Lora!" I didn't really know what to say to that... "At least he must be really good in bed though, right?"

"Actually...that hasn't happened yet." I looked over at Thranduil again and he just smiled. He must be able to hear her yelling through the phone. And the gasp she made at my declaration. "But why don't we talk about something else? How's your husband?"

"How long have you two been together?"

"Um, just a month or two," I told her. Thranduil mouthed, 'two' and half of me was happy I got it correct, but the other half was embarrassed that it wasn't my first answer.

"Oh the poor man. He's probably dying. Relieve his pain, Lora!"

"Ariel, he's sitting right next to me, could you possibly move on to another subject?" At this point, the truth was the only way to shut her up. 

"Shit, Lora, why did you wait to tell me until now? Hi, Thranduil! I'm sorry my sister won't sleep with you!" I pulled the phone a few inches away from my ear so he could hear and instantly regretted it. 

"Ariel, I'm gonna hang up."

"And go fuck him?"

"Ariel..." 

"Fine, fine. Wait until the moment is absolutely perfect." She gave a dramatic sigh. 

"How's your husband, Ariel?"

"You mean ex-husband. We're through." Then she launched into this whole long and boring story about how her husband had forgotten to buy kitty litter and how somehow that made her start thinking and questioning their relationship and now, a few weeks later, they couldn't even speak to each other. The only way I got through the story was by miming falling asleep and other bored signals to Thranduil. He was chuckling, but I still felt bad that the first impression he'd gotten of my sister was, 'I'm sorry Lora won't sleep with you!' Like, that was just great.

 

When we finally finished, I tossed my phone aside and groaned. "I am so so sorry," I told him. "She has no filter." Kind of like my brain.

"Don't worry about it." He leaned over and kissed my cheek before standing up. "I guess you'll be heading home."

"Oh," I said awkwardly a I also stood up. "Yeah."

"I'm not trying to kick you out, I just assumed..." That you know, we wouldn't sleep together cause like...stuff happened. Oh, and Legolas is here. Duh, Lora!

"Yeah, yeah," I said quickly. "I'm gonna get going. Thanks for staying with me while I was on the phone. It was nice to have you there."

"I hope I wasn't intruding..."

"No, of course not. I don't mind if you know all my sister's problems. And she didn't care either." I stepped closer, then wrapped my arms around his neck. "You know...Eowyn's wedding is this weekend..."

"Lora...I don't know." His sighed and avoided my eyes.

"I'm sorry, we'll talk about it some other time. Goodnight, my love." Then I kissed him before hugging him tightly. His strong arms held me close and in this embrace, I wasn't scared. Last night, I had been terrified at his touch, but tonight I wasn't. I was so thankful that I wasn't traumatized from the evening before. Instead, all I wanted was to be near him. We could get through this. "I love you," I said as I pulled away.

"I love you too, Lora." Then he smiled that beautiful smile of his and kissed me again. Once we started, I really didn't want to stop. Like, I really didn't...but he pulled away gently and wished me goodnight. Yes, time to go. I headed for the door, even though most of me was fighting against it. Oh come on, me. We'll sleep together some other time. I jogged up the steps to my apartment then collapsed onto my bed. Ugh! Feelings! We should rent a hotel room. We should. Then we should go sleep in it...if you know what I mean. Wink wink. So of course that meant that I spent that night, sitting up in my bed, searching Kayak and TripAdviser for cheep hotels. At this point, I'd stay in a dirty motel if it meant getting to sleep with Thranduil. I mean, who wouldn't?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEHIND THE SCENES: THE MAKING OF CHAPTER 30  
> Note: If you are not interested whatsoever in the inspiration for this chapter or how it was written, skip this section. 
> 
> So I was thinking about how I wanted this next chapter to go...and I started watching a few clips of Lee Pace's Soldier's Girl on YouTube. Now I have not seen Soldier's Girl, but I know that when I do see it, I will cry my heart out because I almost did so just from watching a two minute clip. But as I was watching some of the scenes of Calpurnia dancing and her first kiss with Barry (for those of you unfamiliar with the movie, Lee Pace plays a transgender woman named Calpurnia who is a "night-club" dancer and the movie portrays her love story with a soldier named Barry), I got the line, "I wish I could take you into my mind just so you could see her" which became the first line of Thranduil's letter about Lora. I was just so overwhelmed by Calpurnia's beauty, not just because it was Lee playing her, but I was seeing and thinking about the real Calpurnia, who the movie is based on. So I took that line and wound that into a heartfelt letter from Thranduil describing his love for Lora. So in a way, the letter is dedicated to the real Calpurnia <3  
> When I realized that's what I needed to write, I went and found an interview of Lee Pace and listened intently to his voice, so it was really in the front of my mind. Then I wrote the letter in his voice. It was as if he was reading it and I wrote down every word that he said to me. That way, I think I could stay true to his character. I just pictured Thranduil sitting in that chair and heard his voice read me the letter.   
> Usually when I write a chapter, I have some sort of music on, whether it be Ed Sheeran, or more recently, The Cab, but for this chapter it was written mostly with silence so I could listen intently to Lee's voice and really visualize what was going on. That letter is definitely the centerpiece of this chapter and I hope it stands out to you in that way.   
> Then I really wanted to show Lora's affection for Legolas. Back at the beginning of the story, I think she really saw him more as a means to an end - the end being a paycheck. But now, she has this love for him which she describes in the chapter. She really sees him as her own child, and as Thranduil says in the letter, so does he.   
> I wrote into the chapter that Lora wasn't traumatized by the experience with Thranduil and I think that's going to become an interesting point. So many people would have been scared to be touched by their man again after such an event occurred, but because of her love for him and her explicit trust she has for him...she doesn't have that fear. Not in that physical way. Now when she's faced with sex, she may get scared again, but in general, she's not intimidated. I was struggling with Thranduil's physical reaction in this chapter simply because I know what's going on in his head (shhhhh that'll come out soon), but I think I'm satisfied with what happened between them. Their touch was minimal, for now, but it was uninhibited.   
> I'm obviously thinking about their first time and how to write that...I'm not a fan of writing those kinds of scenes in general...so I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. I may be watching a ton more Thranduil clips in the next few days (or BOTFA since it's out!) and trying to...picture that. It's not going to be explicit, cause I don't write that, so if you want me to do a play-by-play, you're gonna be disappointed ;). But I'll try to do a little more than, 'then we slept together and it was great' xD.   
> And there you have it! Hopefully this wasn't boring and stupid to most of you...I'm sorry if it was, but I thought the background for this chapter was a little interesting.   
> Leave me your comments - good or bad! xD Love you all!


	31. The Sex Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, I am SO sorry that this chapter was not up sooner. I was having trouble getting inspired, but after watching my favorite clip from Halt and Catch Fire (episode 3, "I don't know jack squat about brandy", for those of you who've seen it, wink-wink) and a few parodies of the viral First Kiss video, this is what we have! And I'm actually really happy with it :)  
> COMMERCIAL TIME. I posted a new "work" which has two snippets of new stories in it, so make sure you get over there and read them, then let me know what you think! Scarring Circumstances is definitely not over yet, but I do need to start thinking about new story ideas, so there they are. I'd really appreciate you guys' input :). Thank you to everyone who has read them and commented already! Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3623724  
> Finally, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the lovely, elin_mithrin who had a birthday this past week! *whispers* sorry you got the sex chapter, I hope you like it ;). I hope you had an AMAZING birthday, my darling. Thank you so much for all of your support :). xoxo

The place where Eowyn's wedding would be held was miles and miles and miles and miles away. It would take forever to get there. Okay, in reality it would take like two hours to get there, but when you're just sitting in a car, two hours means forever. I was expecting to stay a good few hours at the reception, so getting a hotel room would be convenient. I decided to broach the subject while sitting on the counter eating salad. Thranduil was sitting at the table across from me working on his laptop. "Can we talk about the wedding?" I asked before shoving a forkful of lettuce into my mouth. He glanced up at me and stared for a moment before slowly closing his laptop. 

"What about it?"

"It would be nice to know if you're going," I said simply, beginning to swing my legs. 

"I don't want to go, but I know that you want me to."

"Of course I want you to, but if you can't handle it, that's fine." I didn't mean it like it sounded, I was just trying to be understanding, but at the words, 'can't handle it', Thranduil got defensive. 

"It's not easy, Lora."

"No, no, I wasn't trying to say it was!" I motioned with my hand that was holding the fork. "I don't know when you're going to be able to go out or when you can't, and I can't determine that, I just need to know."

"You're making me sound like I just get to decide when I magically feel like going out or when I can't." Now he was agitated and I was very confused about how we got to this point. 

"Listen, I don't know what goes into the process of deciding what to do and when. I just want to know if I should get a hotel room or not."

"Hotel room?" He leaned back in his chair and gave me a confused, but still annoyed, look. 

"I'd like to stay for the reception and the place is two hours away. I think it makes sense to get a hotel room, but if you stay home, I'll drive home late to be with you." Please don't think I'm treating you like a child. Please don't think I'm treating you like a child. He didn't answer right away, but the annoyance had left his face and he now looked thoughtful. 

"Get the room," he finally decided. "Even if I don't come to the wedding, I'll come to the room."

"Yes, sir." I gave him a salute and he ignored it to go back to his work. That was probably best. I'd have ignored it too.

 

What does one pack for a one-night stay in a hotel which you know will involve sex? Besides a razor, of course. I was busy staring down my closet when a little visitor arrived. I let Legolas in, and he climbed onto my bed while I began to pull out various dresses which were possibilities for the ride there. "Who's getting married?" Legolas asked. 

"A friend of mine from college." Should I wear red? Ugh, but red was so flashy.

"Then why's dad going?"

"Cause your dad and I are dating, so he gets to come places with me." Well that was true. What about white? No, it wasn't Springtime yet.

"Why can't Bard just come over and stay with me instead of me going to stay at Gimli's house?"

"What's wrong with Gimli?" I responded without thinking and was very glad at my response upon reflection. 

"He's not very fast." Does that matter to young boys?

"Well it's very kind of him to let you stay with him for a night, so make sure you're nice to him and make sure you're polite."

"I know, Lora," he spoke in his exasperated voice.

"Sorry," I mimicked his tone, then grinned at him. "You'll have fun while we're gone, Legolas. Eat as much junk food as you can before your dad gets back."

"And make sure you don't get too drunk," Legolas told me with a snarky voice as he climbed off the bed and walked out into my kitchen. I looked after him with my mouth open, then chuckled to myself as I turned back to my closet. He was right on that point. 

 

 

I cried at the wedding. Of course I did. You would have cried too if you had been there instead of just reading about it. Eowyn looked absolutely radiant in her flowing white wedding gown and Faramir was visibly emotional before she had made it one inch down the isle. And the best part? I got to sit there in the third row, side-by-side with the love of my life. I had to admit, I'd never stop getting that happy feeling I got when I introduced him as, "my boyfriend, Thranduil." Thranduil was anxious around such a large group of people, I could tell, but he was keeping it under control. He was just squeezing my hand and he was handling it. Once the ceremony was over, we walked outside into the warm sunshine where Eomer ran up to me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before he had to re-join the bridal party for the pictures. 

"I'm so glad you're here," he said quickly before running off. I laughed, then looked up at my boyfriend.

"Are you doing okay?"

"I'm okay," he nodded confidently. "But I think I'm gonna head back to the hotel, if that's alright with you."

"Absolutely," I affirmed. "Would you like me to come with you?"

"No, you can stay here and enjoy the reception. Could you get a ride back to the hotel?"  
"Yes, absolutely."  
"Alright, I'll see you later." He leaned down for a kiss and I gave him one before he turned to go.

"Goodbye, my love," I called after him and he turned to give me a quick wave before disappearing into the maze of cars in the parking lot. I sighed, but I completely understood his decision. He had come to the ceremony, and that alone meant so much to me.

 

The food was good. I mean, A+ on the food, Eowyn. And I had a good amount of the alcohol, not gonna lie, but it was a wedding so that meant it was okay. I was seated at a table with a lot of my old college friends and it was a lot of fun to catch up with them. I mean...hearing about everything they'd accomplished since graduation...hearing that they'd gotten jobs in their fields...knowing that they were living well without receiving a paycheck from their boyfriend. Sure it was kind of depressing...but then I'd just picture Thranduil in my head and I'd feel so completely happy. These people might be making good livings with good degrees, but they weren't dating Thranduil, so they didn't have anything on me. When the wedding party finally came in, that's when the dancing really started. Eomer quickly found me and pulled me to the floor. Let's just say that 'tipsy Lora' is not 'good dancer Lora'. But who cares, it was a wedding so that meant it was okay.  

 

 

I took the hotel elevator up to the third floor then stepped off and walked down the hall to room 319. That was the room number that Thranduil had texted me. I hesitated a moment, then knocked. I had to admit, I was nervous. Thranduil opened the door a moment later, still in his full suit from the wedding, though his mask had been removed. "Hey." He gave me a quick kiss before letting me in. "How was the reception? You're back early."  
"It was fun," I told him truthfully. "But I missed you so I left when the bride and groom did." He nodded then walked over and closed the open laptop that lay on the desk. "Were you just doing work?"  
"Just a bit of writing." Oh dear. It was probably about me. But instead of saying that and acknowledging how conceited I was, I just nodded. Then we were just standing there and it hit me how weird this was.  
"I wish that this wasn't made into such a big deal," I stated awkwardly, looking around the small hotel room. "It's kind of like...well here we are...about to have sex..." I looked up at him and he looked confused. "I just mean that I wish we could just have sex and not think about it so much." He still had nothing to say and I realized that I made the situation even more awkward than it had been before. I sighed, then stepped towards him before reaching out and taking his hand. I squeezed it and looked up into his face. "I love you."

"I love you too." He moved his other hand around my waist and I moved mine to his neck before standing on my tip-toes to kiss him. Then everything was alright. His hands were gripping my waist, pulling me against him, and I was kissing him as hard as I could. We broke apart just long enough for him to pull off his suit jacket, then our bodies were together again, desperate to touch. I began to work at the buttons on his shirt and his hands undid his belt then slid it off. He pulled me closer as I gasped for air between his lips. Then, all of a sudden, Thranduil stopped. He moved his hands from my waist and took a step back before turning away. "What?" I was incredibly confused. Everything had been going so well. Did he find one piece of hair that I missed? Is my breath bad even though I had stayed away from spicy food?

"We don't need to do this tonight." He began to button his shirt back up, but I stepped forward and stopped him, reaching out to take his hand.

"Why not? What's going on? Was it something I said?" My eyes searched his and it took him a moment to answer me. 

"Last time..."

"This isn't last time, Thranduil," I cut him off before he could continue. He made a motion to let him finish, then took a deep breath before starting again. 

"Last time I hurt you, Lora. I'm scared that I'll hurt you again."

"You don't have to be," I said quickly as I took both of his hands in mine. "Here." I led him over to the bed then made him sit down before standing before him. I then raised my right hand and recited this sacred oath: "I, Lora Feren," here I had to pause for a moment because we were both giggling. "Hush!" I cleared by throat before starting again. "I, Lora Feren, do give thee, Thranduil Sylvan, permission to fuck me, make love to me, or anything else that you wish to do to me." He was smiling now and so was I. Even though the words were silly, I hoped that they could mean something to him. "I love you, Thranduil. Don't make me wait any longer." His hands moved again to my waist and he pulled me into a kiss. Then he laid back against the bed, moving me with him, and a moment later, he was hovering over me, his hot breath against my neck. He knew just where to put his hands, he knew where to move his lips, and I couldn't give a single complaint. Even though the night was full of intense sexual pleasure, I could say that it was also one of the happiest nights I'd ever had. Yes, we had sex and it was great, but we had finally been able to get through to each other. He'd been able to admit to me that he was scared and I could show him how there was no reason to be. When we finally lay down beside each other and were able to tangle ourselves in each other, our warm skin meeting every place it could, I'd never felt so happy in all my life.


	32. The Quote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it is getting really hard to get inspired to write this story! I think I'm gonna need to wrap it up real soon, so I don't start turning out really lame chapters for you guys...if you already think I'm turning out lame chapters, I apologize - the agony will be over soon.  
> Thank you so much to everyone who has already commented on my new ideas for stories! If you haven't done that, here's the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3623724. Go do it! Thanks, guys!

I felt cold. Little goosebumps had formed up and down my skin and I was rubbing my hands up my arms in a desperate attempt to start circulation. "Are you sure it's broken?" I turned half-way-round so I could see Thranduil fiddling with the thermostat. I knew it was annoying to ask again, but I didn't want to become one of the five thousand, four hundred, and twenty seven people who die per year of frostbite. I totally just made that number up, but a number does exist and I didn't want to be a part of it. 

"Babe, I've been turning it up every ten minutes and it's not getting any warmer in here."

"Then what are we gonna do?" I was complaining, I knew I was, but I was cold. And hey, wasn't it cute that I felt comfortable enough to complain around him now? Never mind, I know that it's not. 

"I'm gonna call the landlord." Thranduil stopped attempting to crank up the heat and pulled out his cell phone.

"Good idea." See? Positive reinforcement. I'm not just complaining here. 

"Hey, it's Thranduil Sylvan...yes." I slowly stood up and wandered over to where Thranduil was speaking on the phone. "How long is that gonna take?" I stood behind him then wrapped my arms around his waist, laying my head against his back. He ran his fingers over my hands gently. "No, I understand, it's just disappointing. This shouldn't happen." I smiled to myself at his tone. Sure, the landlord may deserve to be reprimanded, but Thranduil could be a huge diva about things sometimes. Don't tell him I said that. "If it's not done by then, don't expect a rent check." Then he hung up and gave a huge sigh. 

"Is more than one broken?"

"Yeah, there's a few broken in the building. The landlord said he's trying to handle it, but the company that fixes it isn't being cooperative."

"Shoot," I grumbled, tightening my grip around his waist. 

"If it's not fixed by tomorrow evening, we should stay somewhere else."

"What about my apartment?"

"Is yours still working?" He turned his head to the side. 

"My apartment wouldn't warm up completely last night, but it's better than down here."

"Alright, then we'll stay up there." Of course, now that that had been decided, a million questions started floating through my head. The first of which was, 'how clean is my apartment right now?'

 

Not that clean. I ran upstairs while Thranduil and Legolas packed a few things and I was scrambling to shove everything I found into my closet. I ran around the living room picking up random pieces of clothing or empty chip bags and shoved them all into my closet. Every last thing. And a few things under my bed. I quickly cleaned my bathroom too, then made sure all my dirty dishes were either in my sink or my closet. Hey, if they were out of sight, they'd be fine. Then Thranduil and his son came in and I stood in the middle of my living room with a smile on my face, looking like I hadn't spent the past five minutes rapidly dashing around my apartment because I was a huge slob. It then hit me that I had one bedroom and one couch...and Legolas was gonna be here. "Legolas you can sleep..." I hesitated a moment, honestly wondering how to work this out.

"On the couch, I know." Legolas said casually as he walked over and dumped his backpack onto the cushions. I looked up at Thranduil and he didn't seem to be disagreeing. 

"Can I put my stuff in your room?" He asked. 

"Sure," I nodded. I couldn't help feeling excited that he'd actually get to spend a night in MY apartment in MY bed. I mean, that was cool to me. But...Legolas was out here.

"You don't have any gaming systems, right?" Legolas had plopped down on the couch and was beginning to rummage through his backpack while his dad disappeared down the hall. 

"I don't..." How did I overlook that? Like, he did that every day after school...wait, what am I saying? These children and their electronics. He'd be fine. 

"That's what I thought, so I brought my own." And with that, he pulled his Xbox out of his backpack. You know what? Nevermind. I turned and walked down the hall, then opened the door to my room, finding Thranduil crouched by my wall, plugging in his computer charger. 

"You let him bring his Xbox?"

"It keeps him entertained and I wasn't assuming that you'd have a lot of toys around for him. And if we didn't bring it, he'd be wanting to run downstairs to play it everyday." Thranduil seemed to just be reciting the response he'd prepared for when I asked. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. "Is it really that important to you?" Thranduil asked as he stood up to face me.

"No, it's not that." I paused for a moment. "Are you really okay with sleeping with me in here and letting him know that?"

"He knows we're dating," Thranduil stated matter-of-factly. "I don't think he'll think it's strange if we stay in the same room."

"Okay," I slid my hands into the back pockets of my jeans and my eyes drifted towards the floor. "He's your kid."

"Do you think we shouldn't stay in the same room?"

"I just think it's a little weird with your kid in the other room..." Then I realized that I'd referred to Legolas as 'his' kid twice now...when in my head, I usually thought of him as 'ours'. 

"If you'd prefer, I can stay out there too..."

"No, no," I shook my head. "It's fine." 

"You sure?" He raised his eyebrows at me. 

"Yeah," I nodded, then smiled. "I guess I just...didn't know what you wanted."

"You know..." Thranduil started as he walked over to me and put his hands on my arms. "When it comes to Legolas, I want us to figure things out together. I've been a single parent for too long, Lora." I felt a sudden jolt of extreme joy run through my body. 

"Are you serious?" I asked in a choking voice.

"Of course I am." He laughed like it was a silly question, then pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on tightly. I wanted to thank him out loud, but I couldn't speak. Thank you, Thranduil. Thank you so much. I love your son more than you know.

 

My eyes widened at the sight that just appeared in front of me on the computer screen. I didn't check this kind of news frequently, but today I had happened to google Thranduil's name just for fun and well...here it was. I quickly climbed off of my bed and grabbed my laptop, then stormed out to the living room where I expected to find my boyfriend alone on the couch. "What the f...french fry..." he wasn't alone. Legolas had gotten home. 

"Hi, Lora." Legolas turned and grinned at me.

"Hello, Legolas, how was school?"

"It was fun. Tauriel wants to come over later."

"That's fine with me if your dad doesn't mind." My eyes went to Thranduil, who was looking through a book next to his son. 

"It's fine with me," he answered, looking up from his perusal. "Did you want something, Lora?"

"Can I show you something?" I motioned towards my computer and he got up to join me in the kitchen. "I just found this today..." I placed my laptop on the counter and he stepped forward to glance over the article I had found. It was about how Thranduil had brought a new date (yours truly) to the author's banquet a few weeks back and how he was no longer with, 'a certain brown-haired gentleman.' They even had a quote from Bard saying, "Thranduil did not invite me out tonight, but Elros did, and I'm very happy to go with those who want me rather than those who do not." 

"I need to call my agent and ask why he didn't tell me about this." Thranduil stepped away from the computer and pulled out his phone.

"So you didn't know?" I asked anxiously. I'd been hoping that he had known about it and resolved it already. 

"I knew about the article, but I didn't know that Bard talked to them. I need to know if he said anything else." He had begun to dial the number, but I couldn't shut up just yet. 

"What does he want? I thought the appeal of you two was in the mystery."

"It was. Some people are against my being a pansexual author. We weren't going to say anything until the autobiography was out." But then his agent answered and Thranduil began a long tirade as he stepped out of the kitchen and into my bedroom for more privacy.

 

Thranduil's fingers gently ran over my shoulder as we lay in bed that night. He was wide awake, staring at the ceiling, and I was curled up next to him, my arm draped across his chest. I tried to sleep at first, then realized that if he couldn't, I couldn't either. "Are you worried?" I asked suddenly. It was the question that had been running through my mind for the past hour. 

"I'm trying not to be," he said calmly. At that response, I tilted my head up so I could see his face better. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" I moved my fingers up to his collarbone and felt him sigh. 

"I have a lot of things for the press to talk about right now and I didn't need Bard to add to them."

"Is he just jealous?" It felt like a stupid thing to say, but it was an honest question. His fingers paused on my shoulder for a moment, then continued running up and down my skin. 

"I don't know what it is he wants."

"Are you gonna talk to him?" I don't want you to. I don't want you anywhere near him. 

"I don't know what's going to happen." He continued to speak in a very calm, but firm manner. He didn't sound worried, but I was glad that he told me the truth; that he was. 

"Mmm." I pressed my lips against his jaw-line, then he turned his head and my lips met his for a moment. We settled back into our comfortable position, my head against his shoulder, until he spoke again. 

"Do you want to move in with me, Lora?"

"What?" I said out of surprise as I pushed myself up onto my elbow so I could look down into his face. 

"I just thought I'd ask." It was dark, but I saw him smile as his hand moved around to my lower back. "What do you think?"

"I want to," I said quickly. "But not yet. Soon. Let's plan for soon."

"If that's what you want, my love." Then he kissed me again and we settled down for the night. I felt him relax and soon his breathing evened out and I knew he had fallen asleep. But our roles were reversed and I found myself unable to rest. Half of me was melting with hearts and rainbows because Thranduil had asked me to move in with him, but the other half of me had taken over the worry about Bard. What did Bard want out of all of this? Why was he saying things now? And how could he be stopped? I didn't want Thranduil to speak to him, that I knew for sure...but what if I spoke to him? Would he listen to me? I carefully rolled over onto my back and reached for my phone. The bright light caused me to curse under my breath before I silently found Bard in my contact list and typed him a simple message. 'I want to talk with you. Could we meet up?' I felt like I was setting up a drug deal or something. Unfortunately, Bard had nothing nearly as good to give me. I waited a few moments, then realized that Bard must be asleep at this hour, so I turned off my phone and placed it back on my nightstand before rolling back over and wrapping my arm around Thranduil's chest. Maybe he would text back tomorrow. Maybe he wouldn't text back at all. But at least I had tried. Maybe I could talk some sense into him. 


	33. The Unfiltered Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the people want...they will get ;)  
> Also, check out my samples if you haven't already! Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3623724

Bard said he didn't want to meet. When I asked why, he texted back, 'you're not who this is about'. Oh, well that's nice. I try to help and he gets rude. I tossed my phone onto the counter frustratedly before starting to make coffee. Legolas had left just as I got up, then I had showered, and now here I was. Thranduil had been up before me and was watching TV in the living room. He walked into the kitchen as I struggled with the coffee pot, which was just not going fast enough for my liking. "Do you want me to do it?" Thranduil asked as I shoved the new coffee filter in too forcefully, causing it to rip.

"No, I'm fine!" I yelled a little too loudly. The moment the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to put them back. Thranduil was looking at me with a very surprised look, and I sighed as I stepped away from the evil coffee pot. "I'm sorry. It's not you, I'm just annoyed right now." I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the counter, then put my head in my hands, trying to block out any noise. I hadn't mean to snap at Thranduil, and it made me more annoyed that I had.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" He asked from behind me.

"No," I let out a long sigh before straightening up. "I think I'm just gonna go get some air. Do you want me to get you anything while I'm out?"

"No, I'm good." Thranduil kept his distance from me while I grabbed my purse and keys and headed for the door. I felt so terribly awful that I was being so horrible right now, but I knew that after a little while out by myself, I could come back happier and nicer. I pulled the door open and was about to begin the trek down the stairs when I heard someone shrieking my name from farther down.

"Lora? Lora!"

"Ariel?" I called out in surprise, stepping down the last few steps to the first landing, where I saw my sister on her way up.

"Oh there you are," she grinned. "I couldn't remember which apartment number you had."

"So you began to yell my name? What if I wasn't home?"

"Hadn't thought that far." She joined me on the landing and gave me a quick hug.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," I said as I pulled away. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, well Eric and I needed some space, so I decided to give you a surprise visit!" She looked truly pleased with herself, as if this whole idea of showing up out of the blue was the best idea she had in years. If it was, it wasn't saying much for her track record.

"Ariel, you should have called me first!" I was still in total shock that A) she had been wandering around the building while screaming my name like a mad woman and B) that she had shown up unannounced and just assumed that that was okay.

"Well I'm your sister, I thought you'd be cool with it. Now where's your apartment?"

"Upstairs," I motioned up, but when she started to climb the next flight of stairs, I stopped her. "Thranduil and Legolas are staying with me for the next few days, so..." So I don't know where to put you, woman!

"Ooh, I get to meet Mr. Way-older-than-you?"

"Oh good grief." The image of my unfiltered sister meeting my amazing boyfriend was enough to make me want to hurl myself down the remaining flights of stairs. "Ariel, I think it's really best if you just stay in a hotel until we can get this sorted out."

"Nonsense!" She was still smiling like a maniac. "I have no problem sleeping on a couch or in a bathtub, now take me up!" Whoever made the saying, 'blood before water' was definitely an idiot, but he spoke the truth.

"Alright, fine." And with that, my sister handed her luggage off to me, then I led her up the stairs to my apartment. We stepped inside to find the living room and kitchen clear. Thranduil must have gone back into the bedroom after I "left".

"Oh what a darling apartment!" Ariel let out that awfully dated exclamation loud enough to bring Thranduil out from hiding. He stepped out of the bedroom as Ariel began to inspect the place. I felt terrible for him being intruded on like this, even though she was my sister and it was my apartment. "And you must be Thranduil!" Ariel beamed at him as she walked over and gave him a huge hug. He was clearly confused about who this woman was and why she was clinging to him for an inappropriately long hug. When she finally let go, I was given an opportunity to introduce her.

"Thranduil, this is my sister, Ariel."

"Oh," Thranduil gave her the best smile he could muster. "Nice to meet you. I didn't know you were coming."

"None of us did," I said, giving my sister a fake smile.

"And isn't it the best surprise?" She grinned at me then whirled around to finish her inspection. Thranduil gave me a look that said, 'what the hell?' and I just rolled my eyes in her direction. "There was a little boy, wasn't there?" Ariel said, as if suddenly remembering. "Is he here?" Then she gasped, as another sudden realization came over her. "He isn't dead, is he?" Oh yes, that's the obvious explanation for it being two in the afternoon and a little school-age child not being in the apartment.

"Ariel, don't be silly, of course he's not dead, he's just at school," I informed her sharply.

"No need to snap, I was just asking," she said calmly. "So, where should I put my little bags?" The term, 'little' was a complete lie. Ariel had carted two huge bags with her.

"Keep them in here until we sort everything out," I said with an exasperated sigh. "You really should have called me, Ariel."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." She laughed after she said it. "But I am very anxious to catch up with you, so..." She grabbed my hand and led me to the couch where we sat down. "You should come talk with us too, Thranduil. I'd love to get to know you as well." Thranduil looked to me for direction, so I replied for him.

"I'm sure Thranduil has some work to get done." No need to spring any more of my sister on him just yet.

"Yes, I do," he affirmed before stepping back into the bedroom, leaving me alone with Ariel.

"Does he have a nick-name that I can call him? Thranduil is just so long..."

"No, no nick-names."

"Thrandy...Duel...Anduil..." Ariel prattled on as if she hadn't heard me. "Randuil...Advil!" There she laughed. "What about Andy?" Oh hell no.

"Just call him Thranduil, please."

"Andy it is!" She grinned at me and in that moment, I swear she looked just like a demon. "Unless you prefer Randy..."

"If you insist on using a name that is not his..."

"I think I like Randy...though I may switch back to Andy..."

"Ariel, are you going to listen to me?!" I exclaimed suddenly. She turned and looked at me with that big smile on her face, a hint of confusion in her eyes. Yeah, like I was being unreasonable.

"Lora, have you been under a lot of stress or anything recently? You just seem very uptight." She laid her hand gently on my arm and it was all I could do not to scream. Welcome to my life growing up, people. Ariel was the best person on the planet, but also the most infuriating. "Is it because you haven't had sex in so long?" I took a deep breath, then exhaled, just as Ariel launched into the traumatizing tale of almost losing her luggage on her flight here, then getting hit on by a guy that she described as,

"Looking like someone who you knew didn't treat their mother well and probably called women 'whores' behind their backs." She was truly one of a kind.

 

By three o'clock I decided to go get Legolas from the bus stop. Usually, the child could walk back perfectly fine on his own, but I felt it kind to make him aware of my sister's presence before he walked into the lion's pit ignorantly. I excused myself from Ariel's long narrative about nothing and went to find Thranduil calmly sitting on my bed, playing a game on his tablet. He looked up at me as I stuck my head in the door. "I'm gonna go get Legolas from the bus stop and let him know that Ariel is here, okay?"

"So you're leaving me here alone with her?" A smile was playing around the corners of his mouth as he asked. Oh shoot, I hadn't thought of that.

"Do you mind?" I asked with a look that said, 'pleeeeeaaaaaseeeeee! I'll make it up to you later'.

"No, that's fine. She can't be that bad." Oh, she can, but I won't make you aware of that lest you change your mind.

"Thanks." I walked over to the bed to give him a quick kiss. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Then I left the apartment in the capable hands of my boyfriend and the incapable hands of my sister. 

 

Legolas looked surprised to see me when he had trotted down the steps of the bus and found me waiting on the sidewalk. Tauriel was right behind him and I was glad he'd have someone to occupy his time back at my apartment. "Hi Lora...is everything okay?" He asked suspiciously.

"Yes, I just wanted to see you," I lied, as I smiled and wrapped my arm around his shoulders as we began to walk back towards the apartment building.

"Okay...." The suspicion remained in his voice and for good reason. He was a smart kid. Except in Geography. That kid couldn't name any country at any time. Anyways...

"Actually, we have a surprise visitor back at my house!" I tried to sound excited.

"Oh, here it is," Tauriel said wisely from beside her friend as she rolled her eyes.

"Hush, Tauriel," I shot her a stern look. "My sister, Ariel, is visiting us."

"Is that the sister who once wrote 'bitch' on your forehead and didn't tell you so you walked around for a day with it on?" Legolas asked as he looked up at me

"First, don't swear, and second, I only have one sister so...yes."

"But you and dad swear all the time."

"That's cause we're grown-ups." The one answer a child never wants to hear. "Back to Ariel, she's gonna be staying with us for a few days."

"Where? Are you gonna make me move off of the couch?"

"I don't know..." To be honest, I'd been thinking about that the whole way to the bus stop. I had no clue where to put everyone now in my tiny, one-bedroom apartment.

 

"Is this him?" My sister said in a high-pitched voice as she ran towards Legolas. I closed the door behind us as she gave him a hug and kissed his forehead. He didn't look very pleased about it, but Tauriel looked incredibly amused.

"Legolas, this is my sister. Ariel, this is Legolas." I gave the introductions in a very bored voice.

"You are a beautiful little boy, just like your daddy." She patted the top of his head, then noticed Tauriel. "And is this beautiful lady your girlfriend?"

"Nope, I'm the girl who kicks his ass at Halo. I'm Tauriel." Tauriel stuck out her hand and Ariel shook it respectfully.

"Nice to meet you, Tauriel. You know, Randy was just saying that you might be coming over today." Ariel motioned towards Thranduil, who looked only minorly traumatized as he stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Randy?" Legolas looked the most baffled I'd ever seen him as he repeated the nickname Ariel had given his father, while Tauriel had dissolved into fits of laughter and Thranduil rolled his eyes dramatically. Let's just say that Thranduil wasn't the kind of person you gave nicknames to. I joined him in the kitchen while Ariel launched a line of questions on the two young people about how school had been.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching up to brush a stray hair out of Thranduil's forehead.

"I'm okay," he smiled. "She's something."

"She certainly is...do you know where we can put her?" I wrapped my arms around his waist and began rocking us back and forth.

"Well..." he began as he rested his hands behind my neck. "If Legolas and I sleep out in the living room, you and her can sleep in your bedroom."

"But that would mean I couldn't sleep with you..." I said in a depressed voice.

"Then we could have Legolas sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor in your room and give her the couch," Thranduil suggested.

"That makes more sense, since he'd have to be in a sleeping bag in the living room if we did it the other way."

"Then we'll do that," he nodded. "And I started a roast for dinner."

"You did?" My face lit up. "Oh thank you," I paused to kiss him before continuing. "I love you so much." He laughed before cupping my face in his hands and kissing me again.

"I love you too." And that, my friends, is the start of how we got through my sister's unexpected visit.


	34. The House Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to get put up! And I have a job audition thingy on Monday night I have to prepare for, so you may not get another one too soon...I'm sorry! Thank you for everyone who has been so amazingly patient!

"So a little stone cottage with a little white fence?" Thranduil turned to smirk at me and I knew he was mocking me. 

"Is that so wrong to want?" I asked defensively. Ariel had taken Legolas and Tauriel out bowling (her idea) and had left Thranduil and I to our own devices at home. We had been sitting on the couch when Thranduil had asked if I would mind looking through house listings with him. He said he wanted to move into a new house and though I didn't have to move in with him right away, he hoped I would someday, so my opinion mattered. And I replied with, "Of course my opinion matters. It always matters." Spot on, eh? And yes, I've decided to become Canadian. 

"It's just what I'd expect you to want," Thranduil said with a smile. 

"I think that a small cottage with a white fence and black shutters just means...security...and a happy life to me." I shrugged. "I think it's just like those fairy-tales that we're told as children. One day your prince will come and you'll live happily ever after in a little cottage with a little garden."

"I can understand that."

"So, like many other girls, though many are too damn proud to admit it...I just want a little cottage."

"Should we move to the English countryside as well?" Thranduil asked, putting on a posh British accent. Posh - there's a word for ya. It means 'high and mighty' - stay in school kids. I shoved his shoulder playfully and he chuckled. "I hope you'll be happy with me in a townhouse."

"You know I would." I kissed his cheek then lay my head on his shoulder as he continued to scroll through the listings. Ugh, why was everything so expensive? All we wanted to do was live in the city.

 

We had begun to scrape the bottom of the barrel when we found a nice-looking townhouse that was in the next city over. I knew Thranduil didn't want to leave our city, but this would still be close. He clicked on it and we began to read the amenities. About 1,300 square feet...there was a two-car garage...and hey, they had a bar built into the basement. That was nice. "I like that one," I told my boyfriend as I rested my chin on his shoulder. 

"I do too. I'll see if I can set up a showing." As if on queue, Thranduil's phone rang. He looked at the screen for only a moment before answering. "Hey." As the person on the other end of the phone began to talk, he put his laptop onto the couch beside him then stood up and walked into the kitchen. Apparently it was a private kind of thing. Whatever. I moved onto my stomach in front of Thranduil's computer and clicked through the pictures of the house we had just found. Then, like a mother, I checked the school district to see where Legolas would be placed. When Thranduil rejoined me, I was looking through a list of the closest bars and restaurants. I liked food and drinks, what could I say? 

"Who was it?" I asked as I pulled myself back into a sitting position so Thranduil could sit down. 

"My agent," he stated blandly, staring straight in front of him before biting his lip. He looked like he was thinking intently about something, then he turned to me suddenly. "Did you text Bard?" Wow. That caught me off guard. I ended up just staring at him with wide eyes for a moment before replying.

"Um...yes. I just asked if we could meet."

"And did you meet?" He sounded like he was interrogating me.

"No. He said that "this" wasn't about me and that's all...why, what happened?" I rested my hand on his thigh as I relaxed my voice, but I felt his muscles tighten and his eyes narrowed at me. "Thranduil..."

"I don't know why you would text him and make everything worse." Thranduil spat the words out, then got up quickly and stood with his back to me. 

"What's going on?" I began to panic. He spun around, his eyes angry as they glared at me.

"Bard is now threatening to release the text messages between you two that set up a meeting. He may even go so far as to say you did meet. I don't know why you didn't just leave it alone and let me resolve it."

"But we didn't meet..." I stood up quickly and rested my hands on his arm. "You believe me, right?" My eyes searched his face and I saw some of the anger dissipate, but he still pulled away from me and turned to walk angrily towards the door. "Thranduil!" He paused a moment and I heard him sigh. 

"Even if you didn't meet with him, you still texted him, and if Bard releases the texts or says anything else to anyone, it will hurt everything that I've been working towards."

"But don't let him pull us apart!" My heart rate was speeding up at the prospect of Thranduil walking out of that door angry. But he did anyways. And once it closed behind him, I sank back down onto the couch before bursting into tears. Like an idiot, I had tried to fix things that were beyond my control and had created a huge mess instead. I had often made the mistake of thinking I could understand what had been between Bard and Thranduil, but again I had been reminded that I never could. I just hoped that Bard's hate for my boyfriend wouldn't drive him to destroy Thranduil's career.

 

At the sound of my sister coming up the stairs, I ran into my bathroom, closed the door, and turned on the shower. Just so I'd have enough time to compose myself and make myself look halfway decent for Legolas. And so my sister wouldn't ask stupid questions. The moment I had turned on the shower, I realized that a shower was exactly what I wanted, so I pulled off my clothes and stepped into the welcome warm water. I stayed under it for a few moments, just letting it spray onto my face and down the curves of my body. Then Ariel decided that personal boundaries didn't exist and stepped into the bathroom. I was very thankful for a thick red shower curtain between us at that moment, let me tell you. "Hey Lora, we got you an ice cream cone!"

"Ariel, I'm in the shower." You'd think I wouldn't need to say that...

"Oh...well I guess you can't eat it in there. I'll lick the sides so it doesn't drip down." Then I heard the door close and assume she had stepped back out. She hadn't. "So, how was your time home with dear Randy? If you could see me right now, I'm winking. Wink wink!"

"Ariel, can I just shower in peace please?"

"Why, was the sex bad?" She sounded legitimately concerned at this prospect. 

"No Ariel, it wasn't-"

"Oh, so it was really good sex? Hey, high-five! And by that, I just mean that I would high-five you if you weren't currently...indisposed." She was intermittently interrupted by the sounds of her licking my ice cream cone. 

"Yeah, I'm tryin' to shower, Ariel, so get out." My tone became firmer, but she didn't seem to get the hint. 

"We had such a fun time at bowling, and let me tell you, your son can bowl! Oh, have mercy!" 

"Ariel..." I growled.

"He beat Tauriel and I three times! You are raising a champion bowler." Or maybe you and Tauriel just suck at the sport, eh? There's that Canadian again. 

"Ariel," my tone suddenly changed to a very sweet one. "I'm just going to say this one more time...get the fuck out!" 

"Alright, alright, no need to be so angry! Your ice cream is melting in here with all the steam anyways. I'll stick it in the freezer or something. Tootles!" And with that, she finally left. Yay, I now have to celebrate when my sister leaves the bathroom that I'm trying to shower in. Sheesh.

 

I had asked Ariel to set the table, but hadn't given her a number of settings. Of course she made four, which would be logical...but Thranduil wasn't back yet. Surprisingly, as we sat down to dinner, he appeared, as if magically, took his seat beside me, and dug in. He didn't speak to me at all during dinner though, nor I to him. Mostly because I just wanted to beg his forgiveness and didn't want to do so in front of loud-mouth Ariel. So Legolas and Ariel saw fit to bring all the conversation to the meal, and Thranduil and I had no problem with that. "What kind of bagel can fly?" Ariel asked Legolas excitedly. 

"Ummm...."

"A plain bagel!" Oh good heavens. "Where do animals go when their tails fall off?" A retail store.

"Ummm...." 

"A retail store!" Told ya. "How does a train eat?" Kill me now.

"Uhhh..." Legolas was starting to look very unamused. 

"It goes chew chew!" At that one, Ariel almost fell out of her seat she was laughing so hard. Honestly, does anyone have a gun? "Do you know any good jokes?" She asked Legolas. Please, if you call those 'good' jokes...

"No..." Good boy, don't ever tell anyone a bad joke as long as you live. Unless it would save a life, then do so maybe once. 

"What about you, Randy?" Ariel turned to my sister. "Do you know any good jokes?" Randy? Know any jokes? I should think not. 

"I'm afraid not." That's the man I love!

"I already know that nothing funny ever comes out of your mouth," Ariel mumbled in my direction. I gave her a very fake hurt face and she just smirked at me. Oh thanks for that. Also, have you heard my inner monologue? Downright hilarious. 

"Ariel, how long are you staying with us?" Legolas asked wisely. Yes, Legolas, good Legolas. 

"I don't know." Suddenly Ariel's smile changed to a fake one and she fell silent. Oh no, what had we done!

"Have you talked to Eric at all?" I asked gently. She replied with a head shake. 

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she waved her hand as she smiled again. "Now if I wash the dishes, who will dry them for me?"

"I will," I responded instantly. I looked over at Thranduil, but he just stood up silently and left the table. That just felt like another knife to the heart.

 

"Are you two okay?" Ariel asked, rolling up her sleeves as the sink filled with soapy water. 

"Who, me and Thranduil?" I tried to sound surprised. "Yeah, we're fine." We weren't, but we would be, so why worry anyone about it?

"He's a good guy." She grabbed the sponge and began scrubbing one of the pots I'd used to make dinner. "Don't lose that one." This was the most serious I'd seen her this whole trip. 

"I don't intend to," I told her simply. And I wouldn't. I would do anything it took not to lose him.

 

That whole rest of the evening he was conveniently "busy" with no time to speak to me. I finally decided to just go to bed and climbed onto the mattress alone. I fell asleep quickly, but woke up just after midnight to find Thranduil sleeping on the other side of the bed. I wasn't sure if I had actually expected him to come to bed or not, even if there was no other place for him to sleep. I silently slid over and wrapped my arm around his waist, pressing my chest against his back. A moment later, I felt his fingers find mine, and I could sleep peacefully.


	35. The Little Cottage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I am so sorry guys that this took so long. I hit a large patch of being very uninspired and my life got really busy all of a sudden. I now have two jobs (Chipotle :D and a birthday party princess/face painter), so I'm working out the paperwork for both of those. I am also working on scholarships for college to make sure I can pay for everything. Thank you so much for those of you who encouraged me to keep writing this story and thank you to everyone who read any of it along the way. You are all awesome and it has been such a pleasure to write with these characters. I will definitely miss Lora's humor and the beautiful modern Thranduil. I love you all and I hope to hear from you all again in just a little while when I start Sweet Tea (yes, that's the one I've chosen :D). I wrote a scene from it already and I think you guys will like it ;), so make sure you subscribe to me and look out for that story so you don't miss it. Thank you all so much again. Mwah! <3

I awoke alone, though I couldn't be surprised about that. I dragged my feet to the floor then pulled myself out to the kitchen where I found Legolas sitting on the counter talking to my sister as she scrambled some eggs on the stove. My first thought was something like, 'Holy shit, what has she been telling him?' My sister glanced towards me as I stumbled into the kitchen and greeted me with a cheerful, "Good morning, Lora!" My terrible response was, 

"Whatever you said, it's not true!" Yeah, I regret that coming out of my mouth. 

"What?" Ariel looked confused while Legolas started to snort. Yeah, thanks. Always having my back, aye, Legolas? "What the hell are you talking about, Lora?" Ariel asked, apparently determined to get to the bottom of my stupidity. 

"Um..." As you can see, the words came readily. "I just...didn't know what you were talking about."

"Us?" Ariel raised her eyebrows, then realized that her eggs were starting to stick to the pan since she'd been so focused on my early morning brain fog, and quickly started to remedy that situation. 

"We were just talking about dad and you," Legolas told me, giving me something like a smirk, which I didn't appreciate. 

"Oh." I tried to lean casually against the fridge and it came off very awkwardly, like it does every time someone in a TV show tries to act natural after discovering a huge secret. "What about me and your dad?"

"I was asking Legolas how he'd like you as a mother." Ariel sounded frustrated now, probably because I had caused her eggs to burn. 

"Excuse me?" I coughed/hacked out. 

"It's a perfectly natural question in the situation, Lora," My sister snapped at me as she dumped the eggs onto a plate. "And for your information, he said he'd like it very well."

"Well that's very kind of him, but I don't think you should be talking about things like that." Um, hello, we haven't been dating for that long, let's stick to dating and not throw the whole married and step-mother thing into the mix. She was going to traumatize my child. Okay fine, so I sort of am already a step-mother. Sort of. What? Even I don't know what I'm babbling on about these days...

"Where is dad?" Legolas asked suddenly. 

"Huh?" I asked groggily. "I mean, don't you know? I was sleeping."

"No, he was gone when I woke up." Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

"I'll text him." And with that, I went back into my room where my phone was, and upon seeing my loving and warm bed, I promptly plopped down onto it, sent Thranduil a quick text, then curled up to wait for a response. Cause I would totally wake up right when he texted back. I promised myself that, but, you all know how sleep works.

 

I was enjoying an absolutely wonderful dream which involved Tom Cruise on a motorcycle and a pizza the size of China, when I was pulled out of it by the sound of my name. "Lora." Slowly, Tom and the pizza started to disappear and I tried desperately to hold onto them! "Lora!" 

"Mmmm?" I rolled over and opened my eyes to see Ariel sitting on the bed beside me. 

"Oh, screw you," I mumbled, before rolling over with every intention of going back to sleep. 

"No, Lora, wake up, I want to talk to you." She sounded serious, so I gave a dramatic sigh and rolled back onto my back. I rubbed my hands over my face and blinked a few times before pulling myself into a sitting position, ready to listen. 

"What?" I tried not to sound annoyed. 

"I've been thinking a lot about Eric...and I'm gonna go home to him."

"Good." I ran my hand through my incredibly messy hair as I tried to keep my eyes focused on my sister. 

"I just...marriage is more important than my own pride."

"I agree," I nodded. 

"And I think relationships are more important than pride too." That one was directed towards me. 

"What do you mean?"

"Why isn't your boyfriend here?"

"Um..." I leaned over and grabbed my phone, turning it on to read the text that Thranduil had replied with. "He's out at a meeting."

"He's been avoiding you for two days, Lora."

"What?" I tried to make that sound convincing, but it fell very flat. I decided to give in and sighed before folding my legs under me. "We're just..going through a rough patch." You could call it that. 

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Relationships weren't my sister's forte. Now that I think about it...I'm not quite sure what her forte is...but at my rejection of her offer, she looked sad, so I decided to give it ago. "I just...I made a mistake with our ex and so he got upset and is trying to fix it."

"Our ex?"

"Yeah, the guy we both dated."

"Oh yes, that's always going to be weird...is it easy to fix?" She brushed her hair behind her ear, clearly happy that I was actually speaking to her about this. 

"I...don't know," I told her truthfully. "He hasn't really talked me about it besides telling me it was a problem." I shrugged casually. " I think he'll be able to fix it though...he always does." That was based on a very limited trial period with few problems to fix...but he was Thranduil. He could fix anything. 

"Are you in love with him, Lora?" Ariel asked suddenly. It was a strange question to me and I gave her a confused look for a moment, just because the answer seemed obvious. 

"Yes...very much."

"Then you need to fix all of this...today. Make it right." I didn't exactly know how to do that...but Ariel had been honestly trying to help, so I nodded before allowing her to hug me. 

"Thanks, Ariel."

"No problem, sis." She nudged my shoulder playfully and I gave her a look that said, 'really?'. "Yeah, I'm gonna go pack..."

"Good idea." She climbed off of the bed and left me alone with my cozy bed again, but this time I didn't go back to sleep. I picked up my phone and sent off a text to Thranduil that said simply, 'We need to talk. I want to make this right.' He responded with an address.

 

I really felt like a drug dealer as I drove through the city with just an address to follow. I had worn dark make-up too to add to the dramatic effect. What kind of person did that? Me, that's who. I'm such a weirdo. Strangely enough, the address took me out of the beautiful city I lived in and out into rural areas. I drove through rolling kills and a few pastures with cows in them. The nice thing about being in less-populated areas was that I could roll my windows down and sing along as loudly as I wanted to the radio. Shut Up And Dance With Me by Walk The Moon came on and...ya'll know how catchy that song is. I was finally getting closer when I drove into a little, quite neighborhood with some of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. Some were large, some were quite small, but most of them were surrounded by a little white fence, and that's when I realized where I was going. The directions led me to the most beautiful house in the neighborhood. A cottage with a little white fence around it and black shutters around the windows. I stopped the car in front of it and just stared for a few moments. I put my hand over my mouth as silent sobs began to shake my body. It was absolutely beautiful. He had found the exact house I had wanted, and even though I knew that we could never possibly live here, this is where he had taken me when I told him I wanted to make things right. When I had gotten it more-or-less together, I slowly climbed out of the car and made my way up the walkway onto the porch and to the door. I brushed the remaining tears from my face, then knocked. For a split-second I was afraid some angry old lady who owned the house would answer the door and tell me to get lost, but instead, the man I loved opened the door. "It's beautiful." I told him as he opened the screen door and I stepped into the house and immediately wrapped my arms around his neck. His strong hands held me for a few moments, and I was crying again as we pulled apart. "What is this place?" I asked as I gave a little laugh and brushed at my cheeks. 

"This," Thranduil started as he took my hand and led me further into the perfect house. "Is your dream house. This is exactly what you want, isn't it?"

"It is," I nodded. "But what are we doing here?"

"I know that I haven't been fair to you these past few days." He paused and turned towards me. "I know you didn't mean to do anything with Bard and I had to make it up to you and apologize to you, so I arranged for us to stay in this house for a week, just you and I."

"Are you serious?" I raised my eyebrows in shock and extreme joy. Honestly, I cannot tell you how happy I was at this moment. 

"I love you more than I could ever express to you properly. And I am very sorry for over-reacting." I just couldn't stop crying. 

"And I'm really really sorry for ever sending that text, or trying to help, or being annoying, or anything else that I've ever done that made your life hard." I let out another short laugh, even though I was still crying.  
"Everything with Bard has been resolved. He agreed to step back and not say anything after he was offered a significant amount of money."  
"Really? So all of our problems are all over?"  
"Well that one is." He smiled and I returned it, but was cut off by Thranduil as he pulled me close and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck again and my fingers tangled in his long hair as we held onto each other tightly. He kissed me deeper as he pushed me up against the closest wall, then he lifted me and I wrapped my legs around his waist. A moment later I found myself laying against a soft mattress, my boyfriend's body pressed closely against mine. My hand at the back of his neck pulled him into another kiss, while my other hand ran over the wall until I found the light switch and flipped it off.

 

And that is the story of how a girl who needed a summer job ended up on the doorstep of the most attractive man in the universe and ended up falling as much in love with him as he was with her. If you could take one thing from this story, let it be that if you end up screwing your boss, that's okay. Unless he's married, then don't do that. Or if it's like an illegal thing, don't do that either. BUT, if he is single, you are both of age, and he looks like a son of a god, go for it. Insert winky face emoticon. But, more seriously, I hope you learned a few lessons from the insane goings on of my life over that time period. If you're interested, we're both doing very well. Thranduil continues to write his amazing life story, which is nowhere near as good as my life story you've just read, let me tell you. And Legolas continues to be a pain in the ass...though a very cute and precious one. Tauriel still comes over all the time and Legolas still insists they don't like each other even though they do. Bard is off dating some guy and staying out of our lives like he should. Ariel and Eric got back together...at least, last I checked they were together. I see Theodred every once in a while when he wants me to give blood and he's doing just fine. Faramir and Eowyn are settling into married life in a new house...in Europe. Cause they're cool so they live in Europe. Boramir is enjoying living alone for the first time in a long time. Thorin is engaged, which is also very cool, though I know no further details. I have no idea how Dr. Elrond, Nurse Arwen, Fili, Kili, or Galadriel are cause they were minor characters. I hope they all had a happy ending, though. Ahh yes, there's a good lesson to learn from this story: Happy endings happen, even to weird people like me. I hope you all enjoyed this little story about me. Love ya'll. Peace.


End file.
